FETAL SEXING
"The NZMA endorses the following policies with relation to determining the sex of a fetus in pregnancy:
There is no ethical objection to determining the sex of a fetus if it is done for a medical reason. The reason would usually be that there is the possibility of a serious sex-linked inherited condition.
It is unethical to terminate a pregnancy on the grounds of fetal sex alone, except in cases of a sex-related disease."
Background: The Family Planning Assocation became aware that some parents of particular ethnic groups had approached medical practitioners to organise procedures early in pregnancy so that the sex of a fetus could be determined. The intention was to abort a fetus if it was of a given sex (usually a girl). The FPA wished to alert members of the medical profession to this practice. The NZMA Ethics Committee wished to emphasise, while alerting the profession, that it is ethically unacceptable to terminate a pregnancy purely on the basis of the sex of a fetus, where the fetus is otherwise healthy and normal.
Adopted by NZMA Board, 12 June 2001