Influencer Caitlin Bailey faces criticism for choosing baby’s gender via IVF
The Aussie mum travelled to the U.S. to have sex-selective IVF – a procedure banned in Australia.
Influencer Caitlin Bailey, who has 60,000 followers online, has sparked a heated debate online after revealing she travelled to the US to undergo gender-selective IVF – a process that’s currently banned in Australia unless medically necessary.
Now expecting a baby girl in August, Caitlin says the decision wasn’t made lightly. After doing all her initial IVF prep – scans, medication and monitoring – in Australia, she flew to Los Angeles for two separate trips to complete the treatment.
“Essentially, I did all my scans and my medication, everything like you’d normally do for IVF in Australia but for the actual treatment themselves – the egg retrieval and the embryo transfer – I flew over to LA. It was actually really simple,” she explained.
But it’s her honesty around gender selection – and how open she’s been about the process – that’s really stirred up debate online.
Caitlin Bailey criticised for gender selection IVF
On May 12, Caitlin took to her Instagram Stories to respond to the wave of attention following a media interview.
“I also wanted to come on because I’m like, woah. I’m getting flooded with messages,” she said. “I did an interview last week with a reporter just to talk a little bit about my story with Gender Selection Australia and yeah my journey and why I decided to share… and I had no idea how much it was going to blow up.”
Caitlin worked with Gender Selection Australia, a group that helps families navigate the overseas process of choosing the gender of their baby.
“I chose to share my story and my journey purely because I thought if there’s people out there that it could potentially help and not feel so alone, that’s why I shared it,” she said. “I didn’t share it to start online arguments or have troll conversations online.”
“It makes me feel sick to my stomach to think about the negative side of things. I’m all about positivity… It’s just a good reminder, if you have nothing nice to say, please refrain,” she added.
Gender selection laws in Australia
In Australia, non-medical sex selection through IVF has been banned since 2004. According to Monash University human rights expert Paula Gerber, the law helps prevent gender imbalance and protects core values around equality and human dignity.
“Legitimising sex selection is contrary to our societal values around diversity, equality and the intrinsic worth of every individual,” said Paula.
“Other ethical concerns relate to the commodification of children – treating them as products tailored to parental preference, rather than as individuals who are unconditionally loved and accepted for who they are.”
But Caitlin questions why the option isn’t available here.
“If we’ve got [technology] that allows us to do this and it’s not hurting anybody, I don’t understand why it’s not an option,” she says.
Gender selection rules in Australia:
- Banned for non-medical reasons
- Allowed only to prevent serious genetic disorders
- Families must go overseas to access gender selection legally
The price of gender selection
Despite the backlash, Caitlin stands by her choice her fourth child. “I’m doing this for myself, my family. It’s my decision, it’s my money, it’s my body. It’s not hurting anyone else. So, I made the decision,” she said.
“I’m not doing this to make people upset or cause controversy. I made this choice for me.”
She continues: “It does hurt my feelings when I see negative comments… I’m not telling people, ‘We should all do sex selection.’ I’m just saying it’s an option.”
The process cost around $45,000, which Caitlin paid from her savings.
“Some people might spend their money on a $100,000 car that I personally wouldn’t be able to justify – but that’s their money, their choice. What better way to spend your money than on a baby and creating this beautiful family environment?”
Support from another solo IVF mum
Radio host Fifi Box, who had both her daughters via IVF as a solo parent, publicly supported Caitlin during her guest appearance on Fox’s Fifi, Fev & Nick breakfast show.
“I remember when I chose to be a single mother and I thought to myself, ‘Oh, I will be judged for this’,” Fifi shared.
She added, “You can’t help but wonder what the gender is. There are people that want a specific gender… I can say that personally. I wanted a girl the first time and I wanted a girl the second time.”
Fifi admitted that sex selection did cross her mind during her own IVF journey. “Sex-selective IVF is banned in Australia, and I know that because I was thinking about that – but I couldn’t do it. Yeah, I thought about it,” she said.
“Obviously, I did IVF. I was blessed with two girls – mind you, I would have loved the boys too – but you can’t help the natural (feeling of) ‘I want this.’”
