Australian Influencer Pushes Back Against Criticism for Traveling to U.S. for Sex-Selective IVF: 'Makes Me Feel Sick'
Australian influencer Caitlin Bailey is facing backlash after she went viral for traveling to the U.S. and undergoing sex-selective IVF, which is banned in Australia
The influencer, who is also a single mom of three, spent about $45,000 total to conceive her fourth baby, according to Courier Mail
She is due with her baby daughter in AugustAustralian influencer Caitlin Bailey is focusing on the positive after getting some backlash this past week.
The influencer, who made waves online after sharing that she'd traveled to the U.S. and paid $45,000 to use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to ensure her fourth baby would be a girl, pushed back against criticism she'd received in a statement posted to her Instagram Stories. Sex-selective IVF is banned in Bailey's home country of Australia.
"I also wanted to come on because I'm like, woah. I'm getting flooded with messages. 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 a little bit about that," Bailey says in a video posted to her Instagram on Monday, May 12. "And I had no idea how much it was going to blow up."
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Gender Selection Australia is an organization based out of Australia that aims to help Australian families "complete their families by choosing the gender of their baby."
The single mom goes on to say that this type of thing makes her very anxious and she just wanted to share her story in the hopes that it might help someone else.
"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 says. "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. And so yeah it's just a good reminder, if you have nothing nice to say, please refrain," Bailey asks. "I'm trying to just be really positive. And yeah with this all going on it's just freaking me out thinking what's potentially to come. But I'm just going to stay positive."
Bailey spoke with the Courier Mail in an interview published Tuesday, May 13, and shared with the outlet that although she already has two boys and a girl whom she conceived naturally, she'd always envisioned herself having two boys and two girls.
She went on to spend about $45,000, including travel costs, to pursue sex-selective IVF in the United States. "Everybody gets a brother, everybody gets a sister," Bailey told the outlet. "I really love that they're close in age."
Bailey continued, saying that as a single mom, she wasn't interested in dating apps and noted that there were "so many variables" involved in waiting for a potential partner. Once she found Gender Selection Australia, she underwent testing and selected a U.S. sperm donor.
The influencer went on two trips to the U.S. to have her eggs retrieved and implanted and is now expecting her baby girl in August.
The outlet also spoke with human rights expert Paula Gerber from Monash University's Law Faculty, who explained that non-medical sex-selective IVF has been banned in Australia since 2004 and was necessary to prevent sex imbalances and the reinforcement of sexist and discriminatory stereotypes.
"Legitimizing sex selection is contrary to our societal values around diversity, equality and the intrinsic worth of every individual," Gerber said. "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."
Although Bailey knows that sex-selective IVF is "controversial," she told the outlet she's not sure why it's not an option in Australia.
"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 said.
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