New gender detection technique: gift or curse for girls in India?

Newdelhi,Febrauary9,2012(Retures):Researchers in South Korea have developed a blood test that can determine the sex of a foetus as early as five weeks but not everyone may be gung-ho about the discovery, fearing it might be misused for sex selection in South Asian countries such as India where boys are prized over girls. While the ability to determine the gender of a baby through a simple and cheap blood test may be seen as a blessing in the scientific community, the technique might prove lethal to baby girls in India where there is already a great difference in gender ratio with 933 females for every thousand males. Until three decades ago, female infanticide — the killing a newborn baby girl — was widespread in India but due to advancement in technology, it is now possible to determine the gender in the womb itself, leading to a higher number of abortions. The ultrasound test is currently the most commonly used procedure for finding the gender of the baby but it cannot be done before five months of pregnancy whereas an invasive test that carries a one to two percent risk of miscarriage must be done after 11 weeks. “(The new test could) reduce the need for invasive procedures in pregnant women carrying an X-linked chromosomal abnormality and clarify inconclusive readings by ultrasound,” lead researcher Hyun Mee Ryu said. The scientists said the method “might promote the potential for sex selection” and warned “there should be careful consideration about the use of this analytical tool in clinical situations”. Thanks to female foeticide, high rates of violence and economic discrimination against women, a recent poll done by Reuters Foundation ranked India among one of the worst countries for women.