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Parents undergoing fertility treatment should be allowed to choose the sex of their baby for “family balancing”, says a radical report by the UK parliament’s committee on science and technology.

The controversial document makes many other bold suggestions on human reproductive technologies. It does not rule out human reproductive cloning in the future; it backs the use of human-animal hybrid embryos for research; and it challenges the UK government’s intention to strip the anonymity from future sperm and egg donors.

Source: New Scientist

Key points - The most radical recommendations of the report are:

1) That the emphasis on the screening and selection of embryos shift from the regulatory body, to the patient, within the law. This includes the option of sex selection for family balancing

2) That while human reproductive cloning is banned in the UK, it is likely to take place somewhere in the world. If this were shown to safe and effective “an indefinite absolute ban could not be considered rational”

3) That hybrids and chimeras could be created legally for research if destroyed within the current 14-days allowed for human-embryo research

4) That legislation should not require an assessment of the welfare of a future IVF child - beyond significant physical health problems - as this might be discriminatory

5) That donors of eggs and sperm retain the option of remaining anonymous - clashing with a new law coming into effect after April 2005