Family balancing in Dubai – The legal and moral rules
The UAE is one of the most popular medical tourism destinations worldwide and Dubai especially is seeing an exponential rise in patients coming in from across the globe especially for IVF and family balancing. As the health care system allows for gender selection, it has not only enabled families to lead a complete life but also lead to the development of an industry with advanced facilities & safe treatment procedures.
According to Dr. Gautam Allahbadia, "The country has developed an advanced infrastructure of specialty healthcare service providers, offering a range of facilities. For example, the Millennium Medical Centre (MMC) IVF attracts patients from across the region who are looking for state-of-the-art infrastructure and effective fertility treatment. A robust healthcare infrastructure, renowned medical experts from around the world, and affordable treatment are some of the major reasons why people prefer the UAE for treatment.”
With the availability of quality fertility treatment with the opt-in feature of family balancing, Dubai is attracting several medical tourists from Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world due to the ease of accessibility and competitive affordability.
So, what is allowed in the fertility clinics in Dubai?
The facility to test for overall chromosomal normalcy in embryos, i.e. to detect if there are any genetic diseases running in the family.
The UAE allows couples to opt for the gender of their choice as part of ‘Family Balancing’ (also known as ‘Gender Selection’) to achieve a proportionate representation of both genders in the family. The U.S. and the UAE are the only two countries where this is legal and is one of the prime reasons attracting medical tourists to the country.
So now we know one can legally go in for family balancing in Dubai. But another important factor to consider here is the taboo surrounding gender selection.
Proponents of IVF/PGD for sex selection appeal for reproductive autonomy, privacy in reproductive decision making and the moral superiority of preimplantation selection over sex selective abortion while the opponents argue that the use of assisted reproduction treatment to select embryos on the basis of sex reinforces existing sexism and expectations of conformity to stereotypical gender norms, presents undue physical burdens on women undergoing the procedures involved and is inconsistent with the ideal of parents having unconditional love for their children.
But as society has evolved and lifestyles have changed, we also need to look into another aspect of life which keeps getting neglected in our pursuit to achieve professional success. A complete family.
We at MMC IVF come across couples expressing varying levels of disappointment at not having had a child of the desired sex but rarely it amounts to extreme unhappiness over current family situations. Also gender selection turns out to be a personal choice. Couples also characterized their interests in having a child of a particular sex by referencing personal interests in specific parenting experiences. It could involve fathers wanting the experience of raising a son or mothers wanting the experience of raising a daughter (same-gendered parenting experiences). In contrast to motivations related to family balancing, these personal interests were often described in relation to traditionally gendered social experiences shared by a parent and a child of a particular sex. For example, a father wants the experience of walking the daughter down the aisle & giving her away in marriage or a mother wanting to fulfill her desire to be “Soccer mom” accompanying her son for matches.
Couples also considered the possible effects, both positive and negative, that their use of IVF/PGD for sex selection could have on their other children and on their personal relationships with other family members. Many couples articulated multiple reasons why sex selection might be viewed as morally problematic and expressed some degree of self-doubt about the use of IVF/PGD for sex selection which include society might view them as ‘backward thinkers’ in case they are giving priority to a male child.
Even though it is permissible in Dubai, it is essential that you are also mentally prepared when it comes to family selection and set off on this journey without the baggage of external judgment.
We at MMC IVF believe in personal liberty and parental privacy. You can always reach out to our fertility experts to resolve all your queries be it psychological or physical. Gender selection today is more common than you think and due to advancement in technology is 100% safe with excellent results.
To lead you on the right path of IVF treatment & step by step guidance on gender selection and family balancing, MMC IVF is offering you an opportunity to consult with a world-class fertility specialists for a one-on-one discussion. All you have to do is make an appointment with us +971 56 136 2512 or write to us at info@mmcivf.com. We will get back to you promptly. The best part is that you can stay at home and talk to our specialists online. In addition, you can request for a second opinion on the diagnosis and treatment you already are on. Reach out to MMC IVF and we will fix an appointment for it.
