Discussion of the news of the birth of a baby from an embryo which was screened for a breast cancer gene has concentrated on the question of whether it is ethical to use genetic selection for a disease which is not absolutely certain to develop, would not develop until after several years of normal life and is in any case becoming ever more treatable
I am puzzled by another ethical question however
In this country pre-implantation sex selection is allowed only in the negative sense. For example where only boys would be affected by a particular condition, it is acceptable to choose only a female embryo for IVF
In this particular case it seems to have been OK to select a girl & then to screen out the faulty gene. Either boys cannot carry the faulty version, or it has no adverse effect on them, so it must have been the desire to have a girl which drove the need for the procedure
Or is there something I am missing
