Many people in India are unaware of the term “Selective Abortion.” Due to advancement in science, modern medicine allows parents to learn the sex of the baby before it is born. Even though it is illegal in India to reveal the sex of the foetus for obvious reasons, money plays its role and the lineage have the power to decide whether the baby gets to live or not. While there is an attendant increase in demographic and social surveys on this issue, little is understood about the same as either a desired or contested practice of family making in the contexts in which it is practiced.
What is abortion?
In simple words, abortion means - to get rid of the baby inside the mother’s womb by removing the embryo or fetus of the pregnant lady. But is it consensual? Some cultures force their women to abort their babies irrespective of their will. This is called when defined in a term as “Selective Abortion.”
Selective abortions, which are a small fraction of all abortions, occur in those cases where a particular foetus is perceived as having undesirable characteristics. Selective abortion is also done when there are too many foetuses in a pregnancy.
These include cases where:
the unborn child is a girl, and the parents, for cultural or other reasons, want a boy
the foetus is defective
the foetus does not suit the parents in some other way
the pregnancy is intended to produce a child with specific genetic properties, and this foetus doesn't have them
Selective abortions raise all the other ethical issues associated with abortion, but they raise several issues of their own as well. The preference for male heirs is a common occurrence the world over, but in some Asian societies female babies have become a liability for families for a variety of reasons. People have this misconception that sons are able to help in fields and care for the elderly, but girls can even be seen as an economic concern when dowries have to be paid prior to marriage. Poverty can have an enormous impact on family planning decisions, but there can also be social reasons for choosing to terminate a female fetus. In some societies prestige can only be achieved with a male child, and for some families that is incredibly important.
If by chance a female is “permitted” to live, her actions throughout her life will be misinterpreted or judged. She will be considered a liability her entire life till she gets married and is put under the exact same situation as to decide whether she wants her baby to live or not. We all are aware of the sex ration in India ( males over females as it is defined in wikipedia ). How ironic it is as on one side we desire equality and on the other side males are considered as the matriach. Nothing can realistically be done to reduce the current excess and desire of young males, but much can be done to reduce sex selection now, which will benefit the next generation. Realization of the potentially disastrous effects of this distortion in the sex ratio by our generation is a one step ahead in the journey of equality we initiated long back.
As a proud girl child myself I disagree with the prejudiced norms of society and proclaim to change them irrespective of the opinions the society has offered till now. To outlaw sex selection and to address the underlying problem of son preference is the right way to rectify this situation. The government needs to sincerely come ahead and trigger the households where these malpractices still take place. To successfully address the underlying issue of “son preference” is hugely challenging and requires a multifaceted approach. It is our time to make things right and fundamentally influence attitudes about the value of women, which could lead, in turn, to a decrease in the sex ratio and to stand up for ourselves.
We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back. It is high time we decide to take the power in our hands and encourage women around the globe to do the same and stand up for themselves. No one has the right to make you feel inferior or less about yourself. We have the power to run the world and celebrate ourselves. The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE OUR HEROES AND SHE-ROES!!
Author - Khushi Mathur
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