Real-Life Decision Making
Your patient, a 38-year-old woman named Monica Mannion, is seven months
into her pregnancy. So far, the pregnancy has been a good one, free of complications.
One morning, you receive a phone call from the baby's father, Rick Mannion,
asking you if it is possible to tell him the gender of his child. "Yes, it
is possible, Rick," you say. "With the sonographic technology available to
us, gender identification is a very real possibility. I haven't heard your
wife mention it to me, though. Are you sure about this?" Rick is sure. He
wants to know.
"The release of the fetal sex is permitted under certain conditions," says
sonographer Richard Stollery. "First, the patient must directly ask for the
information. Second, the fetus must be of adequate age that the nature of
the genital region is clear. Third, the patient must realize that the sonographer
is making a guess and only a guess."
Rick's wife Monica hasn't asked to know the gender of the child, so you're
not sure whether to tell Rick. What do you do?