We used to be shocked to hear about gender selection in India (female feticide), while the same practice is now available globally through a gender test. A prick of your finger and you send it back to the company and they can tell you if your blood contains a Y chromosome, suggesting you have a boy.
It used to take an ultrasound and a lot of patience, waiting and time to determine the gender of a child. And even then mistakes were made. But now with Canada is one of the few countries in the world where abortion has no legal gestational limit the question about sex selection of a child has become a national issue. Since the 1988 Supreme Court decision that struck down federal restrictions, abortion is regulated purely as a health service. In practice, most clinics stop at 20 to 23 weeks, but hospitals may go later depending on medical judgment, maternal health, or severe fetal anomalies.
There is no law that prevents an abortion at any stage of pregnancy.
Into this uniquely permissive environment enters a booming American industry, which is also available in Canada: at-home fetal sex tests promising gender results as early as six weeks. One of the most visible brands, SneakPeek, markets itself with bright images of happy parents, its website promising “99% accuracy”, and the ability to bond with your child early.
The test uses a blood draw or lancet sample to detect Y-chromosome fragments in maternal blood — a form of consumer-grade cell-free DNA screening. But there’s an open secret behind the marketing: women aren’t only using these tests for bonding. Some are using them to determine whether to continue the pregnancy.
SneakPeek isn’t alone. Competing brands such as Peekaboo, eGenderTest, and a growing niche of boutique prenatal labs offer early gender testing from six to eight weeks, far earlier than the traditional ultrasound window of 14 to 20 weeks.
Their common denominator: they operate in a largely unregulated consumer space. Unlike full prenatal diagnostic tests, which fall under medical oversight, early gender kits sit in a grey zone — sold directly to consumers without clinical counseling, follow-up, or safeguards against misuse.
For Canadians, these tests which can be sent between borders raise uncomfortable questions. If an expectant mother can know fetal sex at six weeks, and abortion remains legal at any stage, what prevents sex-selective abortion, already documented in parts of Canada’s immigrant communities. This can also happen among non-immigrant communities as well. But consider provinces such as Ontario have seen statistical anomalies showing fewer female births in certain populations — a pattern associated globally with sex-selective practices called female feticide.
Canada once debated legislation that would prohibit abortion “solely for reasons of sex selection,” but no party has touched the issue since — fearing political blowback and the slippery slope of re-introducing limits. Meanwhile, consumer technology is shifting the timeline. What was once a second-trimester question is now a first-trimester decision, made in private, with no doctor involved. The ethical dilemma is not theoretical because it is already happening.
As these tests spread and become cheaper, Canada will eventually need to confront a difficult truth: technology has moved faster than policy. And for now, the companies profiting from the trade bear none of the responsibility — leaving society to navigate the consequences. Reddit forums have users discussing accuracy of the test and who uses it. They can even determine if your twins are identical or not, with 99% accuracy at 10 weeks. (Twin zygosity testing exists, but not all companies offer it — depends on the lab).
One user writes: “12 weeks and had ultrasound. I was hoping I would feel differently after it. I have four boys that I love. I have had gender disappointment with each. I’m pregnant again and did a sneak peek clinical test that was a vein draw and a home test that was a snap test and had both come back boy. I cannot stop hoping for a miscarriage. I am debating termination. I hate myself for this and feel like a terrible mother. I am so depressed. Has anyone been through this? Please don’t judge me.”
A responder writes: “It’s 100% up to you whether you choose to terminate, and that being said, I’m curious as to why a specific set of genitalia matters. There’s a chance that one of your kids could be transgender, and that means one of your current kids could be a girl, and she just hasn’t told you yet.”
Another suggests IVF to select gender “next time”
