Disclosure of sex when incidentally revealed as part of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT): an Ethics Committee opinion
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine
Committee members:Judith Daar, Jean Benward, Lee Rubin Collins, Joseph B Davis, Owen Davis, Leslie Francis, Elena Gates, Elizabeth Ginsburg, Sigal Klipstein, Barbara Koenig, Laurence McCullough, Richard Paulson, Richard Reindollar, Ginny Ryan, Mark Sauer, Sean Tipton, Lynn Westphal, Julianne Zweifel, …
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (2018). Disclosure of sex when incidentally revealed as part of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT): an Ethics Committee opinion. Fertility and sterility. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.06.019
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Disclosure of sex when incidentally revealed as part of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT): an Ethics Committee opinion. Fertility and sterility. 2018. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.06.019
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "Disclosure of sex when incidentally revealed as part of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT): an Ethics Committee opinion." Fertility and sterility, 2018.
For EndNote, Zotero or Mendeley:
License
No open license is recorded for this paper. Reuse terms are set by the publisher.
RRM Academy Synopsis
ASRM Committee Holds Patients May Learn or Decline Embryo Sex in PGT
A 2018 ASRM Ethics Committee opinion holds that patients may ask to know an embryo's sex, or ask not to be told. It covers sex revealed by gene testing done for medical reasons. The committee calls a clinic policy of transferring only one sex unethical.
Study at a glance: ASRM committee says patients may learn or decline embryo sex in PGT. Source: Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2018, PMID 30196948.
Key Findings
The committee holds that patients have a right to information about an embryo's sex and a right to ask not to receive it.
The committee says clinics "must have nondiscrimination policies" for embryo transfer once sex is known, and should tell patients what those policies are.
The committee calls it "unethical" for a clinic to have a standing policy of transferring one sex, or of balancing sex within families.
The committee says clinics "may have policies" that ignore embryo sex when choosing a transfer, using embryo quality or randomization, and should inform patients beforehand.
The committee says embryo sex could be a common secondary finding when PGT is done for medical reasons, and patients should be told before testing.
Interpretation
The document is an opinion from the ASRM Ethics Committee (American Society for Reproductive Medicine) and reports no study data. Its conclusions rest on values the committee names: patient autonomy, the best interests of the child and nondiscrimination. The committee addresses embryo sex found in testing done for medical reasons. Sex selection for nonmedical reasons has a separate ASRM opinion. The acknowledgments say the report reflects the views of committee members.
RRM Context
Embryo testing takes place within ART, where embryos are created and tested in a laboratory. RRM approaches infertility by finding and treating its cause. The opinion stresses informed consent and telling patients in advance what a test may reveal, a principle RRM also holds.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
Clinics may develop a policy to disallow selecting which embryos to transfer based on sex and choose to use only embryo quality as selection criteria. Clinics may also develop a policy to use randomization to select those embryos for transfer if more embryos suitable for transfer are available than can be transferred.
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2016
Ethics and Policy › Reproductive Ethics › Genetic Testing of Embryos
Judith Daar, Jean Benward, Lee Rubin Collins, Joseph B Davis, Owen Davis, Leslie Francis, Elena Gates, Elizabeth Ginsburg, Sigal Klipstein, Barbara Koenig, Laurence McCullough, Richard Paulson, Richard Reindollar, Ginny Ryan, Mark Sauer, Sean Tipton, Lynn Westphal, Julianne Zweifel, 0000-0003-0284-2845
J Daar, J Benward, L Collins, Joe Davis, Joey Davis, J Davis, O Davis, L Francis, E Gates, Liz Ginsburg, Beth Ginsburg, Betsy Ginsburg, E Ginsburg, S Klipstein, Barb Koenig, B Koenig, Larry McCullough, L McCullough, Rick Paulson, Dick Paulson, Rich Paulson, R Paulson, Rick Reindollar, Dick Reindollar, Rich Reindollar, R Reindollar, G Ryan, M Sauer, S Tipton, L Westphal, J Zweifel
PMID 30196948 30196948 DOI 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.06.019 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.06.019 Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine et al. 2018, Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine 2018
