Summary:
Problem statement: Globally fetal gender determination is easily done using maternal blood cell-free fetal DNA (CfDNA) that provides near 100% specificity and sensitivity for fetal y chromosome. Yet in India ultrasound centers and doctors are regularly made to work extra to comply with the PCPNDT act initially formulated in 1994 to prevent female foeticide.
The conversational transcripts discuss the legal and ethical implications of revealing a fetus's gender in India, particularly in the context of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act and questions it's current relevance in the presence of molecular biology techniques that can easily outperform ultrasound for fetal sex determination technique s. The conversation highlights the tension between the law's intention to prevent female feticide and the reality of subtle gender revelation practices. Participants also discuss the role of technology, such as chromosomal analysis of maternal blood, in gender determination and the potential consequences of revealing gender information.
*Key Words:*
- PCPNDT Act
- Gender determination
- Female feticide
- Chromosomal analysis
- Maternal blood test
- Sex selection
CRH Critical realist heutagogy
CM: cable CBBLE moderator
HU: human user
[02/04, 15:29]hu1: Also, is it legal to reveal the gender in India even if the gender identification is done overseas?
[02/04, 17:24]hu2: The question is intriguing. Radio diagnosis cannot report the gender (and that restricts what innovations we can bring in)
However, IVF facilities are allowed to - maybe even expected to carry out Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT). Does any law prevent them from revealing the foetus's gender?
There are centers (at least one in LA) that claim gender selection as their expertise!
Maybe their laws are different, but isn't selection different from disclosure?
[02/04, 17:26]hu3: Scientific evolution can't be restricted...law around it needs flexibility to assure greater good
[02/04, 17:27]hu3: Genetically edited baby is not far from reality
[02/04, 18:52]hu4: The regulation of not revealing the gender is more on paper than real like several other laws in India. The fact is this is done in a very subtle manner using terminologies like "Jai Shri Ram" or "Jai Mata ji". The sole purpose of the legislation was to prevent abortions of female foetuses. On the other hand are more social / ethical issues (pregnancy after two healthy children of the same gender?), so should population control be more important? or should parents unwilling to have a child of the same gender be forced to a pregnancy to full term when the mother has the full right to abort the baby upto 20 weeks?
[03/04, 05:22]hu5: What is an open secret is that. Using US to detect the fetal gender is no longer required. A simple Chromosomal analysis of maternal blood is enough. Positive for _y chromosome_ in 8 weeks if male
[03/04, 05:24]hu5: The reason why this act is continuing as it is good earning for the regulators. We are all appealing the reverse, announce the gender to the government for every case - and let the parents explain why they aborted
[03/04, 06:28]hu6: Yes with a high sensitivity and specificity too!👏👏
Background to the PCPNDT act toward closing access to sex determination to prevent feticide in India and China:
Background to global open access policies around sex determination:
Thematic Analysis:*
- *Coding:*
1. Legal and ethical implications
2. Gender determination and revelation
3. Female feticide and sex selection
4. Role of technology in gender determination
5. Consequences of revealing gender information
- *Categorization:*
1. *Legal and Ethical Frameworks:* The conversation highlights the complexities of the PCPNDT Act and its implementation.
2. *Gender Determination and Revelation:* Participants discuss the various methods of gender determination, including chromosomal analysis of maternal blood.
3. *Female Feticide and Sex Selection:* The conversation touches on the issue of female feticide and the role of sex selection in Indian society.
- *Learning Points:*
1. The PCPNDT Act aims to prevent female feticide, but its implementation is complex and often subtly circumvented.
2. Technology, such as chromosomal analysis of maternal blood, has made gender determination more accessible and accurate.
3. Revealing gender information can have significant consequences, including the potential for sex selection and female feticide.
4. The conversation highlights the need for a nuanced understanding of the legal, ethical, and social implications of gender determination and revelation in India.
Creative commons license: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sex_determination_ban.JPG#mw-jump-to-license
Epilogue:
[03/04, 06:55]hu2: Health IT can play a moderator's role.
Device output can be block chained by mandatory law - and it doesn't cost much
There can be a well defined review panel, which can reveal the gender to courts in a sealed cover.
If leave is granted, mandatory social worker engagement may be enforced and MTP allowed on a case by case basis.
Challenges:
1. The review results may arrive by the time the unborn's grandkids are grown ups
2. Aftermarket modification of block chained modalities may become big business
3. The review panel may not have enough of an incentive left, after the payables are deducted from the receivables
My opinion - our laws may be archaic, but the problem lies elsewhere (not in the Parliament)
[03/04, 07:19]cm: Even the device output for maternal blood cell-free fetal DNA (CfDNA) to detect fetal y chromosome with 100% sensitivity and specificity? Do we have an estimate of how many such devices exists?
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