Lawmaker seeks ban on embryo discrimination

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri lawmaker wants to prevent parents from playing God by choosing whether their test-tube baby is a boy or a girl.

The legislation by Rep. Michael Reid is one of the first proposals in the nation that would ban gender discrimination with in vitro fertilization.

Scientists have learned how to test an embryo for genetic diseases and disorders before implantation into the womb. Such a test is usually requested by would-be parents worried their child will be born with incurable genetic disorders.

Experts said Friday that the new technology also could determine the embryo's future sex. Essentially, parents could decide if they want to make a baby boy or a baby girl.

"The advances in human reproductive technology are coming so fast that we need to have some limits, some boundaries," said Reid, R-Hazelwood. "This is only a baby step to look at the whole issue of these technologies being used to practice some sort of eugenics, the breeding of a better form of human being."

Reid said his proposal, introduced Tuesday, only addresses embryos created combining a sperm and an egg outside the body. "It would not prevent parents from using other technologies to rig the odds in favor of a boy or girl," Reid said.

The medical community is beginning to worry that embryos will be thrown out because the parents favor another sex, said Gerard Magill, executive director of the Center for Health Care Ethics at St. Louis University.

There are reasons to discard embryos, he said. For example, the bill still would allow doctors to reject an embryo because of a sex-related genetic problem.

While Magill doesn't know of any laboratory or hospital where this is happening, he said, "there is no doubt that this technology is developing."

Under Reid's proposal, violation of the law would be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and a year in jail. Repeat violators could face felony charges punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine. It is unclear in the legislation whether the punishments would apply to the parents, the doctor or both.

Reid said the United Kingdom has a similar ban. But no law like this exists in the United States.