Gender selection: Australian couple spent $50,000 and travelled to US to have baby girl
Couple sought out gender selection treatment, which is illegal in Australia, after having three boys
With three sons already, Jayne Cornwill and her husband Jon were intent on having a baby girl to complete their âfamily puzzleâ.
So much so, when it came to a fourth child, the couple decided to travel to the US for gender selection treatment â a controversial procedure banned in Australia.
âObviously we wanted a little girl after having three boys,â Jayne Cornwill told Channel Nine on Monday. âWe tried all the natural things, all the diets, all the positions, all the old wivesâ tales but none of them worked. Thatâs when it struck me the hardest, and thatâs when we decided we were going to seek medical intervention.â
With non-medical gender selection illegal in Australia, the pair, from Mount Barker in South Australia, flew to fly to the US to undergo the procedure which would allow them to find out their embryosâ gender.
The treatment, known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), was successful and seven months ago the coupleâs daughter Emmerson was born.
Cornwill says Emmersonâs birth came after years of âgender disappointmentâ caused by longing for a daughter.
âItâs like mourning the death of a child you never had,â she said. âMy husband wanted a little girl that one day he could walk down the aisle, I wanted a daughter so I could have that relationship ... and our sons wanted a little sister.â
PGD testing to prevent transmission of a genetic abnormality or disease is available around Australia under various acts and guidelines. But regulations prevent the selection of embryos on the basis of preferred sex alone.
The couple say they spent around $50,000 on the overseas treatment.
âItâs not cheap,â Cornwill said. âWe had one failed attempt early in the year last year and then the second successful attempt.â
The controversial treatment should be made available to all Australians, Cornwill said.
âJust because you donât have a use for PGD then simply donât use it, donât take that choice away from somebody else because you donât know how much it may mean to them,â she said.
Source: www.theguardian.com