Opinion: Gender-Selective abortion and hypocrisy
Selective abortion is not as obsolete as many may think; in fact, it happens globally and is now more consistent in Great Britain. What is even more interesting is that pro-choice groups are condemning the act.
Many are aware of this gender-selective abortion trend in Asian countries because of the cultural pressure that is put on women to have a boy. However, it had never popped into anyone’s mind that this trend could reach Western countries.
It is now becoming common for British immigrant families to use selective abortion to choose the gender of their child. Immigrants of the Afghan, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities have been accused of using selective abortion to choose the gender of their children, specifically aborting females. This theory came about from census information, particularly in the 2011 Great Britain and Wales census, where between 1,400 and 4,700 girls are reportedly missing.
What is extremely surprising is the fact that pro-choice groups are outraged at this trend. A spokeswoman for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service tweeted, “Where gender discrimination exists it must indeed be tackled, but certainly not in the form of further undermining women’s rights.”
So the groups that believe a woman has the right to do whatever she wants to do with her body are saying that she cannot have an abortion for this one reason. This is hypocritical. Even if the pro-choice group believes a woman has a right to have an abortion for any reason whatsoever, then isn’t gender selection ANY reason? The group may not necessarily agree with the reason, BUT they must support the women who use this reason. Why? The group would then contradict its mission statement.
Yes, from a Western standpoint, sex discrimination and gender-selective abortion is not ethical or moral. However, there are cultural differences around the world. Not everyone comes from or believes in the same ideologies or cultural norms that exist in the Western world. It is not anyone’s job to force changes on these long-standing traditions in these nations. These pro-choice groups should support women that have abortions based on gender selection. It is a reason to have an abortion — aren’t these groups supposed to support these reasons?