Trial to measure social consequences of predetermining child's sex

October 26, 2005 -- A first of its kind clinical trail is underway, with hopes of measuring the social affects of choosing the sex of a child.

Some people are actually doing this through a procedure called preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. It allows them to select male or female embryos, which are then implanted in the uterus.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston have enrolled 50 couples who already have a child but now want one of the opposite sex. The study, reported in the journal Nature, will look at the health of the babies as well as social factors as the children grow up.

While gender selection is legal in the United States, the controversial procedure is banned in other countries.

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