Gender Selection News : Gender Determination

India state plans to ban Baby Gender Mentor and other early prenatal gender tests

Maureen — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 03:54:00 GMT

I guess no one can accuse India's government of reacting too swiftly. When the Baby Gender Mentor was released, many were alarmed about how the early baby gender test might be misused in India. Today, over a year later and after the product has already been withdrawn from the market altogether, the Indian government announced that it may be banned.

Worldwide, the normal birth rate is 51% boys, but in India, a gender imbalance has arisen due to a cultural preference for sons. Through the practices of sex selective abortion, infanticide, abandonment, and neglect of their daughters, some areas of India have only 41% to 47% female births.

In Punjab, the Indian state with the lowest female birth ratio, the health minister has announced he "will take all steps" to have the Baby Gender Mentor banned.

Punjab plans to ban US gender determination kit
Gulf News

Congressman urges FDA to investigate Acu-Gen's Baby Gender Mentor, and to regulate similar baby gender tests

Maureen — Wed, 31 May 2006 14:16:00 GMT

After viewing an ABC report about Baby Gender Mentor's problems and lack of oversight for the test, Florida Congressman Jim Davis has urged the FDA to investigate Acu-Gen and to regulate similar baby gender tests, and the Florida Attorney General has opened an investigation against Acu-Gen.

Initially the issue that particularly concerns us is this unfair trade and deceptive practices.

Charlie Crist, Florida Attorney General

Although Acu-Gen has previously refused to provide any evidence from trials to support their accuracy claims, or to reveal sales figures or details behind their method, that may change as the company has now been subpoenaed by the Attorney General's office.

Clearly, something is going wrong here. When someone is paying the kind of money that's being paid here to get a laboratory test there needs to be some protection as far as the safety and effectiveness of the test, and there needs to be accountability.

Florida Congressman Jim Davis

Both officials were alarmed b the experience of Florida mother Erin Rivera, who purchased the Baby Gender Mentor test just to learn whether her unborn baby was a boy or a girl. Erin was told by Acu-Gen's Wang that her baby had Trisomy-18, and would likely die at birth. When questioned about Erin's case by ABC Tampa's Linda Hurtado, Wang said:

This baby going to have developmental problems, and it's probably going to cease to exist right after birth.

C.N. Wang, Acu-Gen President

Aside from the anguish endured by this frightened pregnant mother, there is very real danger in this sort of diagnosis: most babies diagnosed prenatally with a trisomy, such as Down's Syndrome, are aborted before birth.

Thankfully, Erin Rivera never considered that option, and in March delivered a perfectly healthy baby boy named Lucas.

Lucas does not have signs of Trisomy-18 or any other trisomies.

Dr. Raafat Hamzeh, Lucas' pediatrician

Congressman Jim Davis has sent a letter to FDA commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach regarding the Baby Gender Mentor; here are some excerpts:

I am writing to call on the FDA to investigate Acu-Gen's Baby Gender Mentor test and provide oversight for similar gender tests to protect consumers from false medical diagnoses.

...There have been numerous cases where Acu-Gen predicted false and misleading results for the customers. Furthermore, Acu-Gen refused to give these customers their guaranteed refund after they showed proof the test results were wrong. The company cannot supply scientific data or proof of any clinical trials supporting the test's accuracy.

...It is my understanding that the FDA does not regulate this test, because they consider it a 'home brew' test. Dr. Eschenbach, this is very troubling and alarming that no one is monitoring what is happening with these companies...

Why is the FDA not monitoring these companies in the light of the claims being made? Is the FDA equipped to monitor these companies? Do you agree more oversight is needed for products like Baby Gender Mentor?

...I am very concerned with the lack of gevoerment oversight companies like Acu-Gen receive, especially in light that they are now making false medical diagnoses.

Florida Congressman Jim Davis in a letter to FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach

Excellent questions, Mr. Davis. Why doesn't the FDA monitor these companies? The answer is that, because of a loophole in FDA policy, a company may sell genetic testing as a lab service without FDA approval. Thus, there is no oversight to assure consumers that genetic tests are accurate, or even useful for the advertised intent.

If this seems like a bad situation to you, Mr. Davis, you aren't alone. For over a decade, federal advisory boards have been calling for regulation of genetic testing. Five years ago, the CDC promised to do so, yet still nothing has been done. So, although it's already been 8 weeks since you sent your letter to the FDA, don't be too surprised if you don't hear anything back soon.

How to Petition the FDA to change or create policy
Anyone may petition the FDA, and the FDA must respond within 180 days
ABC Tampa's Linda Hurtado reports Florida congressman urges FDA to investigate Baby Gender Mentor and similar products; Florida attorney general investigates Acu-Gen
Well done Linda!

Baby Gender Mentor retracts 200% money back guarantee, and PregnancyStore suspends sales of the gender test

Maureen — Wed, 24 May 2006 13:12:00 GMT

Baby Gender Mentor, the at-home DNA test claiming to reveal an unborn baby's gender as early as 5 weeks of pregnancy, convinced many customers that their claims of near-perfect accuracy were real by offering a 200% money back guarantee if your result was incorrect. "How can I go wrong?" many mothers asked.

The test's maker, Acu-Gen BioLabs, has now retracted the offer of a double-money-back guarantee, and a 100% guarantee is now offered instead on the BabyGenderMentor.com and PregnancyStore.com Web sites. PregnancyStore, the online retailer for the gender test, indicates that Baby Gender Mentor is currently "out of stock". (Perhaps until new orange boxes can be printed without the 200% warranty.)

The 200% money back guarantee is wonderful! The offer put that much more confidence in my decision to order your product!

Testimonial on PregnancyStore.com

While a money-back refund is usually a mark of a legitimate product, in a gender prediction or gender selection product it's highly suspect -- because the seller is assured of getting at least half the results correct.

While Acu-Gen formerly "stood behind" a 200% guarantee of the Baby Gender Mentor's accuracy, customer complaints about wrong test results, and the company's refusal to make good on the promised refund, have caused the Better Business Bureau to give Acu-Gen BioLabs an unsatisfactory rating.

Acu-Gen Biolab, Inc. has a pattern of complaints concerning advertising issues. Consumers state that the company promises a 99.9% accurate test result for the gender of their unborn child or a 200% guaranteed refund. Consumers state that the test result is often inaccurate. Consumers state that when they contact the company for a 200% refund... the company still does not provide the consumer with the guaranteed refund.

On 03/13/06 the Better Business Bureau wrote to Acu-Gen Biolab, Inc. and asked them to substantiate the following claims made on the company's website: We Guarantee that all test results will be absolutely 99.9% accurate, explanation of the company's 200% guarantee, Unsurpassed Accuracy, Unrivaled Earliness, Uncompromised Promptness, Undoubted Privacy and Totally Safe. As of 03/28/06 the company has not responded to the Better Business Bureau's request for substantiation or modification of the questioned advertising claims.

Better Business Bureau listing for Acu-Gen BioLabs, Inc.

Update: The BabyGenderMentor.com Web site has also stopped selling Baby Gender Mentor.

TONIGHT on CNN's Paula Zahn: Acu-Gen's Baby Gender Mentor

Maureen — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 13:45:00 GMT

Leila's lovely daughter Malia

A segment about Baby Gender Mentor airs tonight on CNN's Paula Zahn Now (8 eastern, 7 central). "The maker of the product says the problem is with THEIR babies, not HIS test," says the teaser. The story features three of our own members, Leila (leilawill), Melissa (melissa30), and Raylene (realtormom).

ABC News airs follow-up to Baby Gender Mentor controversy

Maureen — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 13:41:00 GMT

Tampa's ABC News affiliate reveals that no government agency regulates sales of gender tests like the Baby Gender Mentor. The FDA does not require oversight of the test because it's a "home brew" -- a test sold as a service.

Women are saying, "Wow, that's really neat, I'm going to get that!" And every time that they sell a test, that woman is potentially putting herself and her family at risk for heartbreak.

Danielle Hardy, mother whose Baby Gender Mentor test was wrong

Linda Hurtado reports that women are banding together to file a class action lawsuit, alleging that their Baby Gender Mentor result was wrong, and that the company won't honor their promise of a refund.

I think some of this has got to be looked into, and hopefully stopped. You are not supposed to make misrepresentations when selling a product to the public.

Barry Gainey, Gainey and McKenna Law Firm

Acu-Gen, however, maintains that their baby gender test works as advertised. Acu-Gen's president, Chang Wang, says, "We have done thousands of tests. I think if you want to do a fair comparison, do a fair report, you should check thousands of them before you make any comment."

I have to disagree. The 99.9% accuracy claimed by Acu-Gen (never mind statements about "never" being wrong) means that only 1 in 1,000 customers should get a wrong result. Yet over 70 women have reported here on In-Gender.com that their gender test was wrong, according to ultrasound results, not to mention numerous reports on other pregnancy forums. For these 70 cases to represent the 0.1% error rate claimed by Acu-Gen, sales of at least 70,000 kits would be needed. In November, the kit's retailer, Sherry Bonelli, stated that 4,000 kits had been sold, with half those being sold in the first few weeks after the product debuted on NBC's Today Show in late June.

Although Bonelli maintains that ultrasound is unreliable at determining a baby's gender, so far over 20 women on this site alone have delivered babies that confirm their ultrasound was right, and Baby Gender Mentor was wrong.

Experts call for regulation of baby gender tests
ABC News, Tampa, Florida
(Story and video)
Baby gender test spawns lawsuit
ABC News, Tampa, Florida
(Video link)
Baby Gender Mentor Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
Gainey and McKenna Law Firm
Includes questionnaire for Baby Gender Mentor customers

ABC News asks if Baby Gender Mentor is "inaccurate, or worse?"

Maureen — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 14:56:00 GMT

Erin Rivera bought the Baby Gender Mentor to find out her baby's unborn gender at just 10 weeks of pregnancy. She thought it would be fun to surprise her husband, stationed in Afghanistan, with their baby's sex much earlier than possible by ultrasound. "Congratulations, it's a boy!" was the result from Baby Gender Mentor.

But Erin's "fun" turned into fear when she got a call from Acu-Gen's president, Chang Wang, with a different kind of news. He told her she should have genetic testing because her baby had a chromosomal abnormality.

"He just kept saying, 'Well, most people would like to know so they would have a choice.' And I got very upset and started crying and he laughed at me and hung up on me."

Erin Rivera

But Erin soon found there was reason to doubt information from Acu-Gen. Here on In-Gender.com, she found reports from dozens of other pregnant women who were confused and upset after purchasing the Baby Gender Mentor. Not only did ultrasound indicate that their baby was not the gender predicted by the gender test, but a few had also received disturbing news about possible fetal abnormalities from Acu-Gen.

One was Danielle from Kentucky. After repeated testing by Acu-Gen insisted her baby was a boy, and suggestions that her baby could have chromosomal abnormalities, she gave birth to a healthy daughter in December. Yet, Wang still contends there has never been an error.

We don't make mistake. Period.

Mr. C N Wang, Acu-Gen President

Yet over 20 women have reported here that after giving birth, their baby is not the gender they were told to expect by Baby Gender Mentor.

Linda Hurtado of ABC Tampa interviewed Erin and Danielle and visited Acu-Gen BioLab in the first part of a two part series. The second part will air tonight.

Baby gender test leads to great concern for some mothers-to-be
ABC News, Tampa Florida
(Story and video)
Baby Gender Mentor Forum

Class action lawsuit against Acu-Gen's Baby Gender Mentor is investigated

Maureen — Sat, 18 Feb 2006 04:04:00 GMT

A New Jersey law firm is investigating claims from customers dissatisfied with Baby Gender Mentor. The investigation is detailed at www.babygenderinvestigation.com. According to the Web site, allegations being investigated include:

Baby Gender Mentor's 99.9% accuracy claim is disputed. No data has been provided by the company to support this claim.
The 200% money-back guarantee is not fulfilled. Women have reported that Acu-Gen changed the terms of the refund after the product was purchased, making it unreasonable or impossible to receive a refund.
Unwarranted medical advice and diagnoses. Women say they have experienced emotional distress after being contacted by Acu-Gen's Dr. Wang and informed that their baby has a chromosomal abnormality or other defect, and some have undergone unnecessary medical treatment based on this "advice".

Does your unborn baby's heart rate predict gender? An old wives' tale debunked (again)

Maureen — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 14:29:00 GMT

A new medical study confirms, yet again, that fetal heart rate can't tell a pregnant woman if her baby is a boy or a girl.

As the old wives' tale has it, if your unborn baby's heart rate is higher, above 140 beats per minute, that means you're carrying a girl. A lower heart rate below 140 bpm means you're having a boy.

It's hard to resist such an easy test, because for nearly every woman in the early stages of pregnancy, the baby's heart rate is just about the only thing we can find out about it. So it's easy to try to over-analyze this little bit of information we can get.

But don't get your hopes up, or have your hopes dashed, based on your baby's heart rate, because it has absolutely nothing to do with what your baby has between its legs. This was proven beyond question 20 years ago, by a senior sonographer who analyzed thousands of births to establish that fetal heart rate did not correlate with the baby's sex. (See link to study below.)

Quite convincing data, but still I decided to conduct my own experiment to see if fetal heart rate could indicate a baby's gender. To do my experiment, I first became pregnant with boy/girl twins. Then, I underwent a LOT of fetal heart monitoring, including one week of almost constant monitoring while hospitalized for preterm labor, as well as twice-weekly non-stress tests in which both babies heart rates were tracked for 30 minutes. (You can see I am quite dedicated to the interests of science.)

The result? Sometimes the boy's heart rate was higher, sometimes the girl's heart rate was higher. No pattern, except that when one of the babies seemed to be more active, kicking and moving around alot, that baby's heart rate would tend to be higher. It makes sense, that a baby's heart rate might vary a good bit depending on whether it's active or at rest at the time the heart rate is checked.

As if my own research weren't convincing enough, a new study, published in Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy, tells us that analysis of over 500 births proves again that fetal heart rate cannot predict whether a baby is a boy or a girl.

Contrary to beliefs commonly held by many pregnant women and their families, there are no significant differences between male and female fetal heart rate during the first trimester.

Medical study, link below

So the next time you see a post in a pregnancy forum from a mother "proving" this theory is right because her two girls had high heart rates and her three friends had boys with low heart rates, you can set the record straight on this old wives' tale: it's false.

Gender-related differences in fetal heart rate during first trimester
Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy, 2006
Sex, Heart Rate, and Age
OBGyn.net Publications

Acu-Gen balks at giving refunds for birth certificates showing Baby Gender Mentor was wrong

Maureen — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 01:38:00 GMT

Dozens of mothers who have complained that their Baby Gender Mentor results are incorrect according to ultrasound, CVS or amnio have been told by Acu-Gen's C.N. Wang to "reserve judgment" until the baby is born. Sherry Bonelli, online retailer of the Baby Gender Mentor prenatal gender test, maintains that Acu-Gen "stands behind" their 200% money back guarantee and claims that no refunds have yet been issued for a wrong Baby Gender Mentor result after the birth of a baby.

However, now that many women who paid $275 for the gender test that went on sale in June are due to deliver, or have just given birth, the conditions for the 200% refund have suddenly been changed.

Lauren Elizabeth
Born 11-11-2005
9 lb., 5 oz.

After an 18-week ultrasound clearly showed that Jeanne's baby was a girl -- not a boy, as her Baby Gender Mentor result claimed -- Jeanne waited patiently until her baby girl was born, and sent one of the three original birth certificates provided by the state to Acu-Gen. To her surprise, she received a letter from Acu-Gen stating that meeting the original requirements of the refund offer wasn't good enough.

We have received your request for the refund and are currently processing the case. We have also received your access code, registration number, and birth certificate. However, in order to complete the refund process, BabyGenderMentor requires the additional following items as outlined in our 200% guarantee.

1. An original birth certificate with your current address that must match your original mailing address at the time of the test.

2. A blood samle of your baby for kinship confirmation. You can obtain an archived sample of your baby's blood from the hospital of birth, or if necessary, Acu-Gen Biolab will provide a heelstick kit for you.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact our customer service or refer to our 200% money-back warrantee at www.babygendermentor.com. Thank you.

Letter from Acu-Gen, 12/27/05

However, these requirements didn't exist when Jeanne bought her Baby Gender Mentor kit. Here's a scan of Jeanne's Baby Gender Mentor box:

Nothing about maintaining the same place of residence throughout your pregnancy in order to be eligible for a refund, and certainly no requirement to jab your newborn's foot to obtain an additional blood sample.

Previously, the conditions for the Baby Gender Mentor refund were stated on the BabyGenderMentor.com Web site as follows:

We guarantee that all test results will be 99.9% accurate. If your test results are legitimately incorrect, Baby Gender Mentor warranties a 200% refund of both the laboratory and purchasing expenses. A valid registration number and an original birth certificate are required for the refund.

Baby Gender Mentor Web site, September 2005

The Baby Gender Mentor Web site has now been changed to this:

Baby Gender Mentor warranties a 200% money-back refund for both the laboratory fee and purchasing expense of the kit. An original birth certificate and a valid registration number are both required to claim the refund. In order to be eligible for the 200% money-back guarantee you MUST read and adhere to all the recommended procedures. In addition, the parent’s name on the original birth certificate MUST match exactly the name on the blood specimen collection card, and your current address MUST match your original mailing address at the time of the test. To substantiate your claim, you MUST agree to submit the blood sample of the baby for kinship confirmation if requested by the lab. Baby Gender Mentor is not responsible for any consequences resulting from failure to follow kit instructions and will deny the 200% refund to cases deemed fraudulent. Furthermore, Baby Gender Mentor is not liable for the successful outcome of your pregnancy. In the advent of a miscarriage, no refunds will be granted. Baby Gender Mentor will not accept any gender discrepancy claims citing ultrasound image, karyotyping/FISH analysis, or any other indirect, low-resolution gender-determining techniques.

Baby Gender Mentor Web site, December 2005

What a ridiculous and pathetic attempt by this company to avoid honoring their refund promise for an incorrect result.

To get a refund, you can't move during your pregnancy

...and your current address MUST match your original mailing address at the time of the test...

This means, even though your Baby Gender Mentor test was in fact wrong, just because you move during your remaining 8 months of pregnancy, you are no longer entitled to a refund. Preposterous. At least two women have mentioned that they had their Baby Gender Mentor kit delivered to a female friend or relative with no males in the household, to reduce the chances of contamination by their husband or sons.

To get a refund, you can't maintain your privacy

Although Baby Gender Mentor's online retailer, PregnancyStore.com, assures customers that "you remain anonymous and private throughout the entire process", confidentiality goes out the window when matching names and addresses are needed for a refund.

Anonymous and Private: Baby Gender Mentor Home DNA Gender Testing Kit gender test results are guarded by secure transmission protocols. To protect your identity, your baby gender test results will only be identified by the Acu-Gen Access Code Number included with your kit. Privacy and confidentiality is VERY important to us. (For instance, when you're filling out your kit registration, you don't even need to provide your name or address -- you can remain anonymous!) You remain anonymous and private throughout the entire process. Your personal information is kept separate from the Acu-Gender test -- the lab knows only your access code and the administrator knows only the registration number. Only YOU know both the Access code and registration number to retrieve the data. Also, credit card information is also kept private and is not given to the lab – your credit card information is between your credit card company and the automatic credit card verification process. Your blood sample will be archived 12 months to prevent any refund dispute related to discrepant result, after that time your blood sample will be destroyed.

PregnancyStore.com

To get a refund, you must submit a blood sample from your baby

...you MUST agree to submit the blood sample of the baby for kinship confirmation...

I'm running out of synonyms for "ridiculous" here, let's go with "absurd". Although Acu-Gen is at fault, rather than offering an apology and a quick refund, they demand that you jab your newborn in the foot to get a blood sample! Why should your baby have to suffer getting pricked in the foot, and why should you have to endure a squalling newborn, because of Acu-Gen's mistake and ineptitude?

And why on earth would we believe that Acu-Gen would be able to make a valid "kinship confirmation" when they got the baby's gender wrong in the first place?

To get a refund, you must first give birth

...Baby Gender Mentor will not accept any gender discrepancy claims citing ultrasound image, karyotyping/FISH analysis, or any other indirect, low-resolution gender-determining techniques...

In fact, several refunds have been issued on the basis of ultrasound and CVS or amniocentesis. Several women on this site have reported receiving refunds after complaining to Acu-Gen that these tests did not agree with Baby Gender Mentor, and a retest by Acu-Gen suddenly produced the "correct" result.

To get a refund, you must deliver a live baby

...In the advent of a miscarriage, no refunds will be granted...

In the event of an early miscarriage, where the baby's gender cannot be determined, I don't see any reason why Acu-Gen should provide a refund, since the service was provided. However, if the baby's gender is determined by genetic testing or otherwise, and the Baby Gender Mentor result was incorrect, why wouldn't the company stand behind their results and refund the bereaved parent's wasted money for a wrong result? Here is a message from a mother whose daughter was stillborn in December.

What is even worse is that I called Acu-Gen since they would not respond to my e-mail and was told that they only refund for healthy babies, he didn't even know what stillborn meant. I had to explain what it was. I called back and asked to speak to the boss. He was rude!!!!!!!!!!! He said I could send my proof but their test was 99.9% accurate and didn't see how they could possibly make a mistake.

Tina

Another woman, Lisa, was told by Baby Gender Mentor that her twins were both boys -- but an amnio confirmed she wasy carrying twin girls. Sadly, Lisa's twin girls were stillborn earlier this month at 22 weeks. Lisa is sending the death certificates, indicating that both babies are female, to Acu-Gen in hopes that the refund she is entitled to will help with burial costs.

"Standing behind" a guarantee, or running away from it?

Many women with incorrect Baby Gender Mentor results have worried that by the time their baby is born, Acu-Gen will no longer be in business, or will have simply disappeared. This new set of preposterous refund requirements seems to confirm their fears that Acu-Gen will not honor their original guarantee.

Baby Gender Mentor...will deny the 200% refund to cases deemed fraudulent.

Baby Gender Mentor Web site

It's really ironic that Acu-Gen is so worried about being the victim of fraud, isn't it?

Acu-Gen reports chromosomal abnormalities to pregnant mothers who paid for gender test

Maureen — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 13:22:00 GMT

Some mothers who paid for the Baby Gender Mentor at-home blood test, which claims to detect an unborn baby's gender just 5 weeks into pregnancy, have gotten a lot more than they bargained for.

Pregnant mom Erin Rivera just thought it would be fun to tell her husband, who is stationed in Afghanistan, the gender of their third child. Instead of "fun", Erin got a shock when a call from Acu-Gen's scientific director, C.N. Wang, informed her that additional tests of her blood sample indicated the possibility of chromosomal abnormalities.

I was crying and crying. I never paid him to find that out.

Erin Rivera

Wang advised Erin to have genetic testing, which would require an amniocentesis to obtain samples of the baby's cells for testing. Because this procedure is expensive and carries a risk of miscarriage, it is only carried out in high risk cases. Following her doctor's advice, Erin decided not to have an amnio, because all other tests indicate that her baby is healthy.

Melissa, another expectant mother, has posted here in the Baby Gender Mentor forum that she, too, got a call from Wang with bad news. Melissa's Baby Gender Mentor test indicated her baby is male, but multiple ultrasounds show that the baby is a girl. After repeated testing, Wang told Melissa that there is "no doubt" her baby has male DNA, but may have a chromosomal defect that can cause malformed genitalia. When the terrified mother asked about the accuracy of this result, she was told only that Acu-Gen's testing is "far more advanced" than other prenatal diagnostics currently available. Rather than enjoying the end of her pregnancy and preparing for her baby girl, Melissa has 10 weeks of agony and worry over her baby's health to endure.

Danielle was also told by Acu-Gen that she should have chromosomal testing performed, after her Baby Gender Mentor result of a boy didn't match several ultrasound exams that showed a girl.

Many other women, who purchased the Baby Gender Mentor test just to satisfy curiosity or to get a head start on decorating the nursery, have found themselves plagued with worries about their baby's health as well. They're asking themselves, "If this gender test is perfect, and 'DNA doesn't lie', what does it mean if Acu-Gen says my baby is a boy but there are no male genitals?" Several have said, "I wish I'd never heard of this test!"

Is this legal?

The question some women are now asking is, why did this lab provide a medical diagnosis when the product is advertised only as a simple gender test?

The US Food and Drug Administration told the company that it did not need approval because the test would not be used for a medical diagnosis.

According to Acu-Gen's C.N. Wang, Boston Globe

Now, however, the test's maker has gone far beyond the original intent, to determine gender only, and has provided a diagnosis on which women might base important healthcare decisions. Faced with the news of a chromosomal or genetic defect, a woman might decide to risk an amniocentesis that would otherwise be deemed unnecessary; worse still, the possibility exists that a woman could choose to terminate a pregnancy based on this "advanced" and supposedly infallible testing.

Yet Acu-Gen has not revealed the methods behind their testing for scientific scrutiny, nor provided any research data that would prove accuracy or provide a false-positive rate. How can a woman's own obstetrician, responsible for the care of mother and unborn baby, have any idea how to evaluate such a claim?

There's no published data as to how well this works. The techniques we used are nowhere near as encouraging as people are being led to believe. It is fraught with potential complications.

Mark Evans, lead investigator of a National Institutes of Health trial on fetal cells in maternal blood

Prenatal test reveals more than gender
New Jersey Star-Ledger
(Article free through 14-NOV-05.)

Baby Gender Mentor now for sale in Europe

Maureen — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 01:29:00 GMT

Scotland's colorful newspaper The Sunday Mail reports that Acu-Gen is now "targeting Scotland" with sales of Baby Gender Mentor, an at-home fetal sex test kit.

Previously, numerous news articles about Baby Gender Mentor raised concerns about the test being used for sex selective abortions in countries with a strong preference for boys, such as India and China. At that time, the president of the test's exclusive online retailer, PregnancyStore.com, stated that the kit is available only in the United States.

This firm could be making claims they cannot substantiate, luring people into thinking they have information on which they can act. For some mums and dads, that might only go as far as painting the nursery pink but others may terminate a pregnancy because they believe they are not getting what they want. That's enough of an ethical minefield but what if they were to abort a child they did want?

Glasgow University Professor in The Sunday Mail

An second article features the story of a woman who says her Baby Gender Mentor result is incorrect. Pamela Gold and her husband were told by Acu-Gen that their baby, due in February, is a son. An ultrasound, however, showed a girl, and an amniocentesis later confirmed that the baby is a girl. "I'm in touch with many women who are unhappy with the service this company provides," said Pamela.

For Sale on the Net..The Sex of Your New Baby
Anger Flares over £150 Home Test
Scotland's The Sunday Mail, Donna White
Kit said I'd have a boy .. but my tot's a girl
Scotland's The Sunday Mail

Doctors are skeptical about Baby Gender Mentor, says Newsweek

Maureen — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 11:39:00 GMT

Doctors are skeptical about the claims of Baby Gender Mentor to predict a baby's gender just 5 weeks into pregnancy with 99.9% accuracy, because no evidence has been presented by the company to back up the claim. When asked about the details of the 14-year Acu-Gen trial that predicted the gender of 20,000 babies with 99.9% accuracy, Acu-Gen's president responded:

The accuracy is based on correlation studies between two technology platforms with validated data from actual births spanning more than a decade.

Acu-Gen president C.N. Wang

It's not clear to me that "correlation studies between two technology platforms" means that "the gender Acu-Gen predicted matched the gender of the baby when it was born 999 times out of 1,000" but perhaps that's what he's getting at.

It's really too bad the details of this study aren't available, because there must be so much interesting information there. For example, how often did a false male result due to a male vanishing twin? And how often was a baby born having male or female DNA, but with malformed genitals making it appear to be the opposite sex? These two possibilities have been suggested to women who have reported that ultrasound views of their baby's genitals don't match the Baby Gender Mentor prediction, yet Acu-Gen's trial seems to prove that these anomalies occurred in no more than .1% of the 20,000 pregnancies studied.

It would certainly be interesting to know whether the women involved in the study had a routine ultrasound during their prenatal care, and its outcome.

Wang says that manuscripts are in preparation to be submitted to peer-reviewed journals, so hopefully we will find the answers to these interesting questions soon.

Gender Bender
A new test claims it can determine fetal gender as early as five weeks into pregnancy. Doctors are skeptical.
Newsweek, Debra Goldschmidt

St. Louis newspaper reports Baby Gender Mentor investigation by Illinois law enforcement

Maureen — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 18:31:00 GMT

An investigation into the sales of Baby Gender Mentor, an at-home DNA test to reveal an unborn baby's gender, is in the preliminary stage, according to the Illinois attorney general. The attorney general's office has not received complaints about the test, although complaints have been filed with the FTC.

Sherry Bonelli, Baby Gender Mentor's retailer, states that the manufacturer has given no refunds, and that the test has been accurate for the four babies born so far.

One mother-to-be of three sons says that although Baby Gender Mentor told her to expect another boy, four ultrasounds indicate a girl is on the way. Another mom expecting a son, according to Baby Gender Mentor, found out through amniocentesis that she is having a daughter.

Fetus gender test being sold online generates skepticism
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Michael Sorkin
Illinois Attorney General

State attorney general investigates Baby Gender Mentor retailer for consumer fraud

Maureen — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 10:44:00 GMT

The Illinois state attorney general has opened an investigation into sales of the Baby Gender Mentor prenatal DNA gender test by PregnancyStore.com.

Our office will be trying to gather information about the role of the company in the sale of the product and also whether or not there have been any consumer fraud laws broken.

Illinois attorney general spokesperson on NPR

One Florida couple were told by Acu-Gen to expect a boy, but learned by amniocentesis that their baby is a girl. The father-to-be was upset when the result was explained as a "vanishing twin" -- even though a previous ultrasound had ruled out twins -- and said it was like being told "you had a baby conceived and it died... I thought that that was very distressing for them to present it in that way".

NPR reporter Nell Boyce also reveals that complaints about the test have been filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Questions raised over accuracy of gender test
NPR (Full audio online)
Illinois Attorney General Office
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Attorneys investigate potential case against Acu-Gen

Maureen — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 02:01:00 GMT

If you're unhappy with your experience with the Acu-Gen Baby Gender Mentor, a law firm in Portland, Oregon is ready to profit from your misfortune.

However, purchasers of Baby Gender Mentor agree to this statement when buying:

You must understand and agree that any liability of Acu-Gen Biolab Inc. and its counselors shall be limited to the purchase price of this kit and price of the lab service. And you will relinquish Acu-Gen Biolab Inc. and mommy’s thinkin’, inc./PregnancyStore.com and its representatives from all responsibilities, either consequential or non-consequential to this kit and service.

PregnancyStore.com

Williams Love O'Leary Craine & Powers P.C.
Baby Gender Mentor Test / Acu-Gen