Click on the link below the image to see the views of members of the public interviewed today
KEY POINTS:
Parents should have the right to choose the sex of their unborn babies, the Government will be told today.
The Bioethics Council, a ministerial advisory committee, will give it a report which says individuals are in the best position to make decisions about sex selection.
The report -
titled Who Gets Born? - concludes that the sex of embryos created outside the mother's body under programmes such as IVF (in vitro fertilisation) should be chosen by parents.
That would mean mothers and fathers would be able to gender-balance their families - something critics have attacked as "designer babies".
The Government is working on guidelines to govern the growing availability and consequences of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis - the testing of embryos created outside the womb.
Under current laws, introduced in 2004, sex selection is banned except to treat a genetic disorder or disease. Penalties for breaches are jail terms of up to five years or a fine of up to $200,000.
The Bioethics Council's programme leader, John Pennington, said the report would advise a change.
"We are finding ... that individuals are the people who have to have the ultimate responsibility in making decisions on such personal, sensitive things as sex selection."
That included, for example, a family who had three boys and wanted a girl, he said.
Pre-birth testing includes pregnancy tests, blood tests and ultrasound scans, but the council's recommendation relates specifically to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD.
Bioethics Council chairman Associate Professor Martin Wilkinson said most people thought of IVF as simply enabling people with fertility problems to have a child.
"But access to PGD means people who don't necessarily have fertility problems may decide to use IVF for a different reason, namely to test for genetic conditions.
"But considerations in pre-birth testing are not only medical. They touch on cultural, spiritual and ethical issues."
The council, an independent body, spent a year gathering the views of more than 700 people as it compiled the report, which will be made public this morning.
It says the recommendations are its view, but also reflect the wishes of those who took part in the research.
Fertility Associates director Dr Richard Fisher said sex selection was relatively simple with current technology in cases of PGD but it was not done in New Zealand as it was prohibited under the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act.
"If Parliament wants to make a change, subject to public discussion, then I would be quite comfortable about that."
Dr Fisher said sex selection was not done in New Zealand, Australia or the United Kingdom, but was allowed in the United States.
"There are places like India where it is illegal but we understand it occurs. And there are some countries in Europe that don't seem to have a problem with it."
Who Gets born?
* Bioethics Council says parents should be able to choose the sex of babies from embryos created outside the womb.
* The council says individuals should make the ultimate sensitive decision.
* Currently that is illegal in New Zealand, punishable by up to five years behind bars.
* It is also illegal in Britain and Australia but is allowed in the US.
