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Selecting the sex of babies goes back to the Greek Empire and will get cheaper, easier and harder to regulate against, international scientist Professor Lord Robert Winston says.
The world-renowned human reproduction expert and BBC documentary star spoke to the Herald on Sunday, before receiving an honorary doctor
of science from the University of Auckland last night.
Jenny Gibbs, 25 years on the university's council and twice pro-chancellor, received an honorary doctor of literature at the same ceremony.
Professor Winston, who frequently addresses Britain's House of Lords - of which he is a member - on education, science, medicine and the arts, told the Herald the current debate in New Zealand on legalising sex selection in IVF babies was being over-hyped.
The Bioethics Council last week advised the Government there were insufficient cultural, ethical and spiritual reasons to prohibit the use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for sex selection for social reasons, such as family balancing - providing the PGD was done at the parents' cost.
Commentators' reactions and public feedback indicated that advice was unpopular with many in New Zealand.
But Lord Winston said that response was unwarranted.
"There's some notion that by selecting the sex you're going to do something terrible."
Many cultures had engaged in various methods of sex selection, including the Greek and Roman civilisations, he said.
"Throughout history there's been concoctions and decoctions and potions supposed to influence the sex at conception. It argues they didn't see a moral objection to it. Why should we get so worked up about it now?"
In a family of four boys, or four girls, ensuring the fifth baby was of the opposite sex seemed fair, Lord Robert said.
"What exactly can be the moral objection to that? I don't think that your bioethics council is being outrageous."
Regardless of opposition, regulating sex selection could soon become almost impossible in the very near future, Lord Robert said.
There was every reason to believe genetic selection would be "very simple in the future".
Technology already existed to tag the sex chromosome in sperm with a genetic die - technology already used in breeding cattle.
It could become very common, very quickly, and would be almost impossible to regulate against.
"I think that will become available. It's probably possible now. It's not being done because there isn't a huge impetus to do it."
Fears that such a development would lead to male/female imbalances in society were of little worry to Lord Robert.
"They might, they might not. Who knows? But I don't think it's a massive issue."
