Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Finally, a pro life bill that liberals can agree on

flstf · 02-25-2005, 05:20 PM

The whole idea of aborting what are considered genetic inferior fetuses will be something society will have to deal with as we learn more about genetics. It seems difficult to deny people the right to do this, after all isn't this also part of what "choice" is all about?

It seems that some parts of the world are dealing with selective abortions already.

Unwelcome in India
Aborting Girls Increases

One of the most disturbing results of the 1991 Indian census was that a decline in the female proportion of the population, evident since the turn of the century, has not been reversed. Neglect for girls from birth onwards is the main reason. But an alarming trend of aborting unborn female children is sweeping the land.

What began as a middle-class, urban phenomenon is now penetrating rural areas as well. Ultrasound clinics can be found in medium-sized towns, while roving diagnostic teams take their ultrasound scanners wherever there is a demand. They advertise using catchlines like ‘Spend 600 rupees ($23) now and save 50,000 rupees later.’ The implication is that by avoiding a girl, couples will be spared the heavy dowry expected in Hindu society.

So far only Maharashtra state has banned pre-natal sex determination. In Rohtak, a town in Haryana, there are four ultrasound clinics. In the past decade Rohtak’s sex ratio has declined from 879 women per 1000 men to 866. ‘The very existence of women is under attack’, said Jagmati Sangwan, a physical education instructor at a college in Rohtak. ‘They are being denied even the right to be born.’

02-25-2005, 05:20 PM	#7 (permalink)
flstf Easy Rider Location: Moscow on the Ohio	The whole idea of aborting what are considered genetic inferior fetuses will be something society will have to deal with as we learn more about genetics. It seems difficult to deny people the right to do this, after all isn't this also part of what "choice" is all about? It seems that some parts of the world are dealing with selective abortions already. Unwelcome in India Aborting Girls Increases One of the most disturbing results of the 1991 Indian census was that a decline in the female proportion of the population, evident since the turn of the century, has not been reversed. Neglect for girls from birth onwards is the main reason. But an alarming trend of aborting unborn female children is sweeping the land. What began as a middle-class, urban phenomenon is now penetrating rural areas as well. Ultrasound clinics can be found in medium-sized towns, while roving diagnostic teams take their ultrasound scanners wherever there is a demand. They advertise using catchlines like ‘Spend 600 rupees ($23) now and save 50,000 rupees later.’ The implication is that by avoiding a girl, couples will be spared the heavy dowry expected in Hindu society. So far only Maharashtra state has banned pre-natal sex determination. In Rohtak, a town in Haryana, there are four ultrasound clinics. In the past decade Rohtak’s sex ratio has declined from 879 women per 1000 men to 866. ‘The very existence of women is under attack’, said Jagmati Sangwan, a physical education instructor at a college in Rohtak. ‘They are being denied even the right to be born.’