"KNOX SCARED BUT INSISTS ON INNOCENCE"

Serving a 26-year prison sentence for the murder of her roommate(colega de quarto), American Amanda Knox said Sunday she is scared, but determined to prove she is innocent, according to an Italian lawmaker (deputado) who visited her cell.
Knox, 22, seemed very pleased (contente) by the visit, which included members of the Italy USA Foundation, said Catia Polidori, a member of the foundation and a member of the Italian Parliament. Knox is also grateful (grata) for the foundation's interest in her case, Polidori said.
"In my opinion, in spite of the imprisonment(apesar da prisão), she seemed to be serene," Polidori told CNN. While Knox is aware(ciente) of the seriousness (gravidade) of her situation, Polidori said, she is "resolute" about proving her innocence.
Knox was convicted(condenada) earlier this month of murdering British exchange student Meredith Kercher while the two roomed(morava) together in Perugia, Italy, in November 2007. During her trial(julgamento), Knox read a statement(comunicado) to jurors, insisting she is not a killer. She is appealing her conviction, although(embora) her case might not reach(chegar) a court docket(súmula do tribunal) for at least a year.
Knox told the visitors she trusts in the Italian justice system to resolve her case, Polidori said. However, she said she was scared, and that "she is often(frequentemente) afraid to open [the] newspaper or watch TV," because media reports tend(tendem) to undermine(enfraquecer) her confidence(confiança), Polidori said.
The Italy USA Foundation "was established to honor the friendship between Italians and Americans," according to its Web site. "The Foundation is an independent institution that intends(pretende) to play a bipartisan role(papel bipartidário) on both sides of the Atlantic and whose sole purpose (finalidade exclusiva)is to promote friendship between Italy and the United States of America."
The foundation's president, Rocco Girlanda, said in a statement on the Web site the delegation visited Knox in her cell in Perugia to check on her condition because of the intense U.S. interest in her case. The delegation brought Knox some English-language books as a Christmas gift(presente de natal), which made her "really happy," Polidori told CNN.
Prosecutors(procuradores) said Kercher died during a sex game in which Knox taunted Kercher while Knox's then-boyfriend, Raffale Sollecito, and another man, Rudy Guede, sexually assaulted her. Among the evidence against Knox was a knife found in Sollecito's house with Knox's DNA on the handle(cabo) and Kercher's on the blade(lâmina).
Knox's attorneys(advogados) attempted(tentaram) to cast(lançar) doubt on those findings(resultados), saying the knife did not match(combina)Kercher's wounds(feridas) or a knife imprint left on a bedsheet(lençol de cama). They also claimed the DNA sample (amostra) was too small to be conclusive.
Sollecito was also convicted in Kercher's death and sentenced to 25 years. Guede was convicted earlier in a separate fast-track trial and is appealing his conviction.
The verdict against Knox drew criticism(atraiu críticas) from some who questioned the process. Kercher's family, however(contudo), has said they were satisfied with the jurors' decision.
Knox said she misses her family, Polidori said. Her mother, Edda Mellas, told CNN's Larry King earlier this month that her daughter was "completely crushed, devastated" by the verdict against her, but she is ready to fight her conviction.
Kurt Knox, Amanda Knox's father, told CNN she had been a victim of "character assassination(assassínio de caratér)." But he said the Italian appeals process is more flexible than in the American courts, noting the appeals court could open the case for a further evaluation (avaliação mais profunda)of evidence and new information.
"There are many Italians who have told us that, you know, worst-case scenario(pior cenário), the first level rarely works(funciona) correctly," Mellas told CNN, referring to the jury trial. "'They'll get it right in appeals, she will get out of there.' They will not, you know, put away(descartar) this innocent young girl for a crime she didn't commit."

WOULD YOU CHOOSE YOUR CHILD’S GENDER?

Genetic screening techniques (Técnicas de seleção Genética) that allow (permitem) parents to choose their children's gender are now more accurate (precisas) than ever and are becoming increasingly (cada vez mais) mainstream, but experts are divided over whether the technology should be used in this way.
A technique called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) (Pré-diagnóstico Genético) was originally developed two decades ago to allow embryos (embriões) to be tested for genetic disease. It requires parents to use in vitro fertilization, where eggs are fertilized outside(do lado de fora) the womb (ventre).
With PGD, the embryos are tested for genetic disorders and only those that are free of disease are transferred to the mother's uterus. It means that parents who carry genetic defects can ensure they don't pass on (transmite) a genetic illness to their children.
But PGD also can also be used to allow people undergoing (submetam-se) in-vitro fertilization to select the gender of the embryo implanted in the mother's uterus.
Using PGD for gender selection is banned (proibido) in most countries, but it is legal in the U.S., where the procedure (procedimento) costs around (por volta de) $18,000, including in-vitro fertilization.
Los Angeles fertility expert Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg uses PGD for gender selection. He told CNN's Vital Signs program that many of his American clients already have children of one gender and are trying to achieve (alcançar) "family balancing." (balanceamento familiar)
added that 70 percent of his patients are from countries where the procedure is banned.
Critics question the ethics of gender selection, and some argue ( argumento ) that it could lead (levar, conduzir) to a gender imbalance (desequilíbrio entre os sexos), particularly in societies with a traditional preference for boys.
"If anything, there's a slight preponderance (ligeira preponderância ) for females, and this is contrary to everything that is publicized, and clearly it varies by country (varia de país pra país)," said Steinberg.
"China is strongly (fortemente) in favor of boys, as we would suspect. India, strongly in favor of boys. But when you look at the world in general, it's 50-50"
Dr. Mark Hughes, who pioneered (pioneiro ) PGD, he has concerns (preocupações) about its use for non-medical purposes (fins médicos). He told CNN, "It definitely is an expanded reproductive choice. The question is, is it medicine? Is it something that doctors should be involved in?"
But Steinberg argues that it's wrong to limit scientific capabilities. "I say to critics that the last thing in the world that you want to do is put the handcuffs (algemas) on science.
"We've been giving women expanded reproductive choices for 50 years. This is another choice."
Although the technology for gender selection is becoming more widespread(generalizado, difundido), it remains controversial(permanece controverso). Some feel that it's "playing God," while others welcome having more choice in family planning.