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<p>The Department publishes annual sex birth ratio analysis, which provides information
on whether there is any evidence for sex selective abortions happening at scale within
specific communities in Great Britain. The most recent analysis was published in October
2018 and found no evidence of sex selective abortions occurring in Great Britain over
the period 2012 to 2016. The report is available at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a
href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sex-ratios-at-birth-in-great-britain-2012-to-2016--2"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sex-ratios-at-birth-in-great-britain-2012-to-2016--2</a></p><p>
</p><p>The UK National Screening Committee has recommended Non-invasive prenatal testing
(NIPT) be a contingent test in the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme only for
trisomy 13, 18, 20 and not for any other genetic marker including sex. Plans are currently
underway to make the NIPT test available on the National Health Service for Down’s
syndrome, Edwards’ and Patau’s syndromes only.</p><p> </p><p>Sex selection is not
one of the lawful grounds for termination of pregnancy. It is illegal for a practitioner
to carry out an abortion for that reason alone, unless the certifying practitioners
consider that an abortion was justified in relation to at least one of the grounds
in the Abortion Act 1967 such as a gender-linked inherited medical condition. Anyone
with evidence that sex selective abortion is occurring should report it to the police.</p>
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