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Sex-selective abortion and infanticideSex-selective abortion is the practice of aborting a fetus after a determination (usually by ultrasound but also rarely by amniocentesis or another procedure) that the fetus is an undesired sex, typically female. Sex-selective abortion was rare before the late 20th century because of the difficulty of determining the sex of the fetus before birth. Since the invention of ultrasound, however, it has become possible. It is believed to be responsible for at least part of the skewed birth statistics in favor of males in Mainland China, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Pakistan, and certain Arab states such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Although the practice is often illegal, laws against it are extremely difficult to enforce because there is no practical way to determine the parents' true motivation for seeking an abortion. Sex selective infanticide is the practice of selective infanticide against infants of an undesired sex, again, typically female. Sex selective child abandonment is the practice of giving away an infant of an undesired sex, typically female, for adoption. If the parents want their infant child of an undesired sex out of their home but yet allow the infant to live, then they give away the child for adoption or export for foreign adoption. Son preference is also a bias in the grieving process. An American study of 236 parents shows that the grief over the loss of a son is greater than of a daughter.
PrevalenceChinaSex-selective infanticide appears to have been practiced at various times in Chinese history such as the Qing dynasty due to population pressures. Sex-selective infanticide appears to occur infrequently in China today. However, there is a strong imbalance in sex ratios in China as well as South Korea, India, and Taiwan, probably the result of sex-selective abortion. In addition, there does appear to be considerable sex-selective abandonment of infants to circumvent China's one child policy. Son preference is common in China: Chinese tradition says that most parents want their first child to be born a male. Son preference is also due to deeply rooted Confucian traditions, and Chinese parents desire sons in order to make familial propagation, security for the elderly, labor provision, and performance of ancestral rites. Many of them retain the ancient Chinese belief, stating that "many sons bring much happiness." China calls the son preference situation the "missing girl" problem. Parents may wish for a male child because in many cultures only a male will carry on the family name (traditionally when a bride gets married she effectively becomes a member of the groom's family), because they believe that a male is needed for work, or because they wish a male to earn an income needed to support the parents in their old age. In response to sex-selective abortions, Mainland China has made it illegal for a physician to reveal the sex of a fetus. IndiaThe popularity of son preference in India could be attributed to socioeconomic reasons. There is a belief by certain people in India that female children are inherently less worthy because they leave home and family when they marry. There is also influence from advertisements saying that it was better to spend $35 to $40 to terminate a female fetus than to spend $3,500 to $4,000 later on her dowry. The high number of "dowry deaths " (about 7,000 were reported in India in 2003), in which brides are murdered by their grooms' family members or commit suicide after suffering abuse and neglect, is also a major factor in gender preference. Studies in India have indicated three factors of son preference in India, which are the economic utility, sociocultural utility, and religious functions. The factor as to economic utility is that studies indicate that sons are more likely than daughters to provide family farm labor or provide in or for a family business, earn wages, and give old-age support for parents. Upon marriage, a son makes a daughter-in-law an addition and asset to the family providing additional assistance in household work and brings an economic reward through dowry payments, while daughters get married off and merit an economic penalty through dowry charges. The sociocultural utility factor of son preference is that, as in China, in India's patrilineal and patriarchal system of families is that having at least one son is mandatory in order to continue the familial line, and many sons constitute additional status to families. The final factor of son preference is the religious functions that only sons are allowed to provide, based on Hindu tradition. Hindu tradition says that sons are mandatory in order to kindle the funeral pyre of their late parents and to assist in the soul salvation. ConsequencesGender-selective abortion may make it more difficult for a generation to seek heterosexual romantic relationships. That happens years from the times of abortion after the children have grown up. For example, it is likely that Chinese men in the future may find it more difficult to find wives, simply because there will not be enough women to go around. It is estimated that by 2020 there could be more than 35 million young 'surplus males' in China, 25 million in India, and 4 million in Pakistan, all of whom will be unable to find girlfriends or wives. In both China and India there are already growing rates of violent crime, sexual exploitation, and industrial accident fatalities which many attribute to large numbers of single men. The basic problem is that single men do not have to return home every night to a wife and child, and thus have less to lose when they engage in irresponsible behavior. Some experts have argued that there is a slim but possible risk of political instability in these countries in the near future. External links
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