Parents can be soon able to pick the gender of their babies under plans proposed by a group of British MPs.

The proposals, outlined in a controversial report, call for personal fertility decisions to be taken out of the hands of regulators. Instead, future-to-be parents in consultation with their doctors should generally have the last word on embryo screening and selection.

Most controversially, the proposals go some way towards the creation of so-called "designer" babies. If accepted, they will give parents greater freedom to determine the sex of their children and ensure they are genetically sound.

The report calls for the current regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), to be disbanded. In its place would be a new Regulatory Agency for Fertility and Tissues, which would have much more limited powers.

Labels: David C. Price