South Koreans are traveling abroad for sex-selective IVF

Couples in South Korea are leaving the country to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) so they can choose male embryos instead of females — a sex selective practice that is prohibited in South Korea.

Key Takeaways:

• Sex-selective IVF is prohibited in South Korea.

• After a preference for baby boys led to sex selective abortions and a gender imbalance, laws were put in place to prevent femicide.

• Now, couples are traveling out of South Korea to get the male embryos they want.

The Details:

In 2024, South Korea saw its birth rate rise for the first time in a decade, but it continues to have the lowest birth rate in the world. Now, South Korean women and couples are leaving the country to access gender-selection via IVF, which is illegal in South Korea. Proponents believe allowing sex-selective IVF will help increase the birth rate. Critics are skeptical at best.

Korea JoongAng Daily shared the story of Sohan, a Korean woman in her 30s who used a fake name to protect her identity. She explained that she traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, in June 2024 to undergo IVF using gender selection so that she could transfer a male embryo. She and her husband wanted to be sure they had a son because their first child was a girl. Ten months later, they welcomed a son.

But in all, they appear to have created 16 embryos with no indication as to what will happen to those not implanted.

"I first learned about it several years ago because my friend's relative had tried gender-selective pregnancy in Hong Kong," she said.

The Bioethics and Safety Act of 2005 bans the use of IVF to select a child's gender. Any doctor who performs gender-selective IVF can face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won ($21,640). It was put in place to reduce femicide through gender-selective abortions, along with another law that prohibited doctors from revealing the gender of a preborn baby. The gender balance in South Korea is now back on track and in line with Western nations.

But there is no law preventing women from traveling internationally to select their child's gender.

South Korean couples are traveling to Cyprus and the U.S., in addition to Thailand, where sex selection of embryos is legal. There is a push in Korea for the government to legalize sex-selective IVF under the belief that it will encourage couples to have more children.

Why It Matters:

Allowing sex selection always involves discrimination, historically against girls, and leads to an imbalance in the genders.

In nations that have dealt with sex-selective pregnancies and abortions, the ratio has been significantly skewed. According to the CIA, India's ratio grew to 100 girls for every 112 boys, and in China, the ratio is 100 girls to 111 boys. South Korea saw the ratio reach 110 girls to 116.5 boys before efforts helped to restore the balance.

There is now a push to legalize sex-selective IVF in South Korea. Lee Min-ah, a sociology professor at Chung-Ang University, said doing so would "medicalize the process of conception and pregnancy."

"Korea's birthrate crisis would not be resolved by giving parents opportunities to choose the gender of their children," said Lee. "The issues of parenting and gender roles should be addressed with greater weight for the population crisis."

Lee Yeon-jin of Kookmin University, also a sociology professor, spoke out against legalizing gender-selective IVF, saying it is "unlikely to be the means of reversing the birthrate." She called on South Korea to adopt ways to help parents balance work and parenting and provide better economic support for families.

"Gender-selective IVF can leave the impression that the society tolerates sexual discrimination in both directions," she said.

The Bottom Line:

For years, female babies have been aborted, killed at birth, or abandoned because of the preference parents have for sons. IVF does not guarantee that a male embryo will be implanted and does not even guarantee that an implanted embryo is biologically related to the parents.

What happens if a lab mix-up leads a female embryo to be implanted instead of a male? Will that baby girl be aborted, killed, or abandoned as a result?