Das Verbot der präkonzeptionellen Geschlechtswahl

The desire to determine your child’s gender is not a new phenomenon, but deeply rooted in human history. The latest Embryo Protection Act prohibits fertilisation with previously selected sperm cells according to sex and thus does not consider the desire of potential parents to determine their baby’s sex. Sex preselection is principally a punishable offense. Exceptions are tightly restricted. The present paper examines whether this intervention can be justified constitutionally. The ethical and socio-political arguments against gender selection are first translated into constitutional categories. Then, the received arguments are analysed in light of fundamental rights dogmatics and, in addition, supplemented by a study conducted specifically for this purpose.