Fertility Doc Sent Couples to Cyprus for Gender Selection

A NHS fertility doctor is in trouble after he was accused of sending couples to a clinic in Cyprus in order to select the sex of their baby, a practice that is illegal in UK.

Dr Charles Kingsland, who is the director of the largest NHS fertility unit in Britain, is alleged to have sent at least one couple every week to a fertility clinic in Northern Cyprus, in which he also owns a stake, for a fee of �14,000.

Dr Kingsland was caught after he claimed to an undercover reporter that he can set up a similar service for her. Selecting the sex of an embryo is illegal in UK according to the Human Fertilisation And Embryology Act 2008 though Dr Kingsland said that he was doing nothing wrong and claimed that some couples like to select the sex of their baby because they "fancy it".

The news has raised the ire of a number of pro-life groups with Lord Alton, Parliamentary Pro-Life group, saying that the situation gives rise to a number of moral questions. "If you have a doctor with a vested interest in organizing treatment which is illegal in the UK, that raises enormous moral issues", he said.



Source: Medindia