Gender selection: what each country actually allows in 2026
A precise, jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction breakdown of who can do PGD for sex selection in Thailand, Singapore, and Australia.
Gender selection is one of the most common reasons patients travel internationally for fertility treatment. The legal landscape is fragmented and often misunderstood — and clinics in each country interpret the rules differently.
Thailand: permissive in practice
Thailand's Medical Council Notification on Assisted Reproductive Technology allows PGD/PGS for medical indications and family balancing. In practice, this means most major clinics in Bangkok and other major cities offer gender selection routinely, often as part of the standard IVF cycle. The Ministry of Public Health does not actively audit clinics on this practice, though clinics must document the indication in patient records.
Patients from countries where sex selection is prohibited (notably Australia) travel to Thailand specifically for this service. The Thai fertility tourism market for gender selection is estimated at over $50 million USD annually.
Singapore: medical indication only
Singapore's framework, set by the Ministry of Health, permits sex selection only for medical reasons — specifically, to avoid serious sex-linked genetic disorders (hemophilia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Fragile X, etc.). Family balancing is not a recognized indication.
In practice, Singapore clinics are conservative and will not perform sex selection for family balancing. Patients seeking this service travel to Thailand or the US. Singapore's regulatory environment is otherwise highly supportive of IVF for medical indications, with one of the region's strongest donor conception frameworks (identity-release).
Australia: prohibited across all states
Australia has the most restrictive regime in the region. The NHMRC Ethical Guidelines permit sex selection only for sex-linked genetic disorders, and most state laws (NSW, VIC, WA, SA, TAS) explicitly prohibit non-medical sex selection. Queensland and the ACT have similar restrictions through different legal mechanisms.
Australian patients seeking family balancing travel to Thailand, the United States, or other jurisdictions. There is no legal pathway for Australian clinics to perform non-medical sex selection, and clinicians face professional sanctions if they do.
Other APAC jurisdictions
- Malaysia: Allowed for medical indications only
- India: Allowed with self-regulation by clinics
- Japan: Prohibited (rare APAC exception)
- South Korea: Prohibited
What to ask your clinic
Before scheduling any treatment involving PGD, ask your clinic: (1) what indication will be documented in your records, (2) whether sex selection is performed routinely or only on request, (3) what happens if all embryos are of one sex. Reputable clinics will answer these questions transparently.