Baby Gender Mentor
[10] Gender Mentor claimed that women had many motivations for using the test to learn the sex of their fetuses early in pregnancy, including mental preparation and planning gender-specific purchases, or more controversially, sex-selective abortion.
In their defense, Acu-Gen stated that ultrasound prediction of the sex of a fetus is not always accurate, and told one family their baby had gender abnormalities.
[6][20] During the same segment of The Today Show, Couric interviewed Dr. Ronald Wapner, head of maternal fetal medicine at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital,[23] he discussed possible pros and cons of the test.
His second concern was whether couples who purchase the test might use the results for family balancing, which means the decision to utilize selective abortion to achieve a baby of the desired sex.
In their report, titled Build A Better Mousetrap, Datamonitor identifies their picks for "the best new food, drink, health, household and pet products of 2005".
[22] With Acu-Gen choosing not to publish proof of its claims and evidence of several women receiving inaccurate predictions, doctors are concerned about the test.
Among the scientific evidence cited by Acu-Gen's website is a paper co-authored by Diana Bianchi, an expert on fetal DNA at Tufts University.
The NPR story quoted Bianchi as saying, "I think at the present time we need to be concerned whether the test is accurate or not", and "I think it's caveat emptor.
[15] Dr. Charles Lockwood, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale School of Medicine, said that it is possible for fetal DNA to be found in maternal blood as soon as the placenta has developed, and that detection after five weeks "is not impossible" and the president of Acu-Gen said the suit was "totally bogus".
[14] No fraud charges were ever made against PregnancyStore.com.Florida Congressman Jim Davis has urged the FDA to investigate Acu-Gen, and the Florida Attorney General has opened an investigation against Acu-Gen.[26] A law firm named Gainey & McKenna has filed a class action lawsuit[27] and at least one other firm is inviting people to contact them about their legal rights if they are unhappy with the results of their test.
[28] Gainey & McKenna's lawsuit seeks to bar the company from false advertising in marketing its test and to compel the firm to honor its money-back guarantee.
The National Public Radio investigative report on Acu-Gen predicted that parents may use the Baby Gender Mentor test as a basis for determining whether to get a sex-selective abortion.
[31] Charles Lockwood of Yale says, "a disproportionate number of female fetuses have been terminated worldwide, and a 2-to-1 male-to-female ratio could lead to social unrest and wars.
"[25] According to Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, sex selection is not a frequent occurrence in the United States but it is a concern in countries such as India and China, where having boys is preferred over having girls.
The 2004 census shows that there were 818 girls born per 1,000 boys; the ratio varies in different parts of India, with the greatest imbalance occurring in the most affluent areas.
[34] The website for the PregnancyStore.com says that they will ship the tests only within the United States,[35] Sheila McLean, professor of medical ethics at Glasgow University, is critical of the kits.
The products and information provided with the Baby Gender Mentor Test cannot and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a known or suspected health condition or illness.
Never disregard medical or professional care or advice or delay seeking it because of something you have learned from Acu-Gen, the Baby Gender Mentor Test or our Web Site.
For instance, scientists have shown that it is possible to use fetal DNA from a woman's blood to screen the fetus for genetic defects such as Down syndrome.
In a validation study sponsored by the National Institute for Child Health and Development, 5 different labs used fetal cells from maternal blood to search for evidence of Down syndrome in 2,744 pregnancies.
[20] In at least one case, Chang Wang, the president of Acu-Gen, has phoned a pregnant woman one month after giving her the sex prediction to inform her that her test indicated an "excess of genetic material in her blood" and advised her to see her doctor in order "to rule out problems like Down's syndrome or Trisomy 18".
[citation needed] The class action lawsuit filed by Gainey & McKenna alleges that Acu-Gen is improperly dispensing medical advice.
[8] In May 2006, the Baby Gender Mentor website was modified to show a different warranty than the one that had originally promised to refund 200% of the purchase price of the test.
If your test results are legitimately incorrect, Baby Gender Mentor will refund you all costs that include laboratory and purchasing expenses.
[21][46] A news crew from television station WFTS, an American Broadcasting Company (ABC) affiliate, visited the Acu-Gen offices in February 2006.
There was a room full of machines Chang said he created, and shelves stacked with blood samples supposedly sent in by women from across the United States."
