为防止重男轻女 英国工党呼吁取消胎儿性别检查
Prospective parents should be banned from using a blood test to determine the sex of their baby in the early stages of pregnancy, Labour has said. Concerns have been raised that some people could choose to terminate the pregnancy because of a foetus's sex. The non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) is used to detect Down's syndrome and other genetic conditions and is being rolled out by the NHS as an additional part of its antenatal screening offer. Those who take the test on the health service cannot use it to learn their baby's sex, but they can pay for this privately, including via online services. Naz Shah, the shadow women and equalities minister, said a preference for boys in some cultures could force expecting parents "to adopt methods such as NIPT to live up to expectations of family members". "NIPT screenings should be used for their intended purpose, to screen for serious conditions such as Down's syndrome," she told the BBC. On the NHS, prospective parents are offered a combined blood and ultrasound test in the first three months of pregnancy to check for abnormalities. Most can find out the sex of the foetus at an 18 to 20-week scan. Using NIPT, this can be determined from nine to 10 weeks of pregnancy. |