Recently I have read an article about how widespread sex-selective abortions are. In Canada there are 105 boys born for each 100 girls. In China there is 50000 more males than females. The problem is early ultrascans. My mother wanted to know my gender when I was in the womb but she couldnt because a lot of people choose to abort their child if it is a girl. It's been known to be worldwide but most often done in China and India because of their 1 billion+ populations. What do you think?
Well, not much to say really, I don't think anyone could think of a positive... In china it's mainly due to the fact that they cherish boys more than girls :S I suppose perhaps since there's the one child policy in China, you could say that if they're only allowed one they should have what they want... Still disturbing though, aborting because of gender oO
Even thouh don't really agree with abortions, I do believe that it is unfair that their is gender selection for abortions. My mom also wanted me to be a boy ...but in a way it makes since that if you have populations problems then you would want to cut down on women because they are the ones that have the children. But my outlook on it is that both genders need to take responsibility. Okay so their is less women. What about the men getting these women pregnant? Most men what to have their own children and with less women they might be even more desperate to squeeze a few in. I think that they are seeing over-population as being caused by the general female population because they have them but it takes two to make a baby. ( I think..)
This is... dissapointing. If you get pregnant you should be prepared to raise your child. though. I can not say I totally dissagree. I think it is their decision, their life. To each their own.. let them do what they want.
Dami91, please don't spam... :lol: Anyway... I read a really interesting book (it's fiction but it contains facts about the situation in China) called Runaway Daughter about a girl who is the daughter of peasants... the girl's mother is pressured by her husband's family to kill the baby after it is born because it is a boy but she can't bear to do it so she leaves it on the steps of an orphanage. The girl is later adopted by a Canadian family, when she graduates she chooses to go to China and track down her mom... I won't give too much away but I asked my mom about it and she said a lot more abortions happen in the countryside where a son means extra labour and a daughter means extra food needed, more money needed, etc... I think that in the end the global (or national) effect is extremely detrimental as more men cannot find wives. In general I am pro-choice but I think sex-based abortion is unfair. However the one-child rule in China is also unfair...
It's not really unfair, it's their answer to mass-overpopulation And just to clear things up, it isn't illegal to have more than one child in china, however, your 2nd and onwards children won't get free things like healthcare etc Just so knowone gets the idea of Chinese swat teams raiding houses in search for extra kids
I'm not quite sure what to think about it. If we're speaking on China's terms.. I see where they are coming from. They ARE over populate but like someone else said, it takes two to make a baby. And with that said, they should be fixing the PRE-SEX problem rather than the POST-SEX problem which would be the baby.. Wouldn't it make sense to use protection of SOME sort first??
Oh man, that would REALLY suck to be living in china and be a second child :'( But anyways, my thought on sex-selective abortions... well, that's just unfair. If you're pregnant and you decide have an abortion because of the fact it wasn't the sex you wanted, I'd say that's really stupid. It shouldn't matter whether it was a boy or girl, a life is a life.
yeah, and what if your boy turns out to be a really flamboyant gay guy? or your girl turns out to be a real tomboy/butch lesbian.. are you going to abandon them? blah people don't look enough in the future to think things through properly.
It's not really unfair, it's their answer to mass-overpopulation And just to clear things up, it isn't illegal to have more than one child in china, however, your 2nd and onwards children won't get free things like healthcare etc Just so knowone gets the idea of Chinese swat teams raiding houses in search for extra kids [/quote] Oh man, that would REALLY suck to be living in china and be a second child :'( But anyways, my thought on sex-selective abortions... well, that's just unfair. If you're pregnant and you decide have an abortion because of the fact it wasn't the sex you wanted, I'd say that's really stupid. It shouldn't matter whether it was a boy or girl, a life is a life.[/quote] yeah, and what if your boy turns out to be a really flamboyant gay guy? or your girl turns out to be a real tomboy/butch lesbian.. are you going to abandon them? blah people don't look enough in the future to think things through properly.[/quote] You actually make a good point. Who really knows what the interest of their children would be and if it would impact the population. The child could be born infertile. Then getting rid of it would be not neccesary. My mom was going to abort me because she didn't want a girl ( not because of China rule) but I decided a long ago time to be chaste so if she was worry about grand children she would not have known so I have much thanks for my father stopping her. People do really need to think things through.
I really think the situation in China is a little out of control. To have a one child policy is ridiculous in the first place and they had to have known (or realized) that it'd lead to infanticide... And especially for a policy like that to exist in a country that traditionally favors males over females. Soon enough that country will have NO females and then where will they be. Not to get into a feminist rant or something (because I'm not like that), but that day will come if they don't make some changes. I just don't understand why you'd care so much about having a boy or a girl-- I mean everyone's going to have a preference but that child's still going to be YOUR child. :\ Adopt if you're so deadset on one sex.
The china one child rule was needed. Without it the country would be in EXTREME poverty, theres noway they could cope with 2billion people (which was the estimated population without the rule) However, in a few years the population will drop to around 800k. And china will become a LOT more developed and slowly but surely turn into a MEDC because it doesnt have to cater for 1.2+billion people and each person inside the country will have more $$ to themselves and much higher chance of big jobs. Howver, it did lead to sex selective abortions which is very harsh. And these sex-selective abortions occur elsewhere. Tbh though, if your going to raise a child for 18+years you've gotta be happy with it, otherwise the kid will have a RUBBISH life and childhood. buti still think that you shouldnt abort just because its make/female. Mod warning: Abortion is a VERY sensitive issue and i know a few members have had to experience things involving this. Can I just ask that before you post aynthing you think VERY carefully about other peoples feelings as such, and just be wary of what you're saying. Ty
Its disgusting. If you're willing to get pregnant you have to take the risk of what gender you will get and you should be prepared to raise and love the child no matter what.
I couldn't of put it better myself but I do believe that the one-child rule is necessary. It's not law but you have to pay a lot of money to have more than one child making it a class war really. China is always a touchy subject because I strongly disagree with a lot of it's laws but I think the culture is beautiful.
abortion is just wrong.... dont have sex if your not ready to give birth or take the risk of having a girl.... your messing with someones life here.....those kids didnt even have a chance to live,and who knows.....one of them couldve been the next micheal jordan or something
While I am pro-choice, I think it's absurd to abort a child because it's not the preferred gender. If you don't want to have a child, fine, get an abortion. But the idea that you WANT a child, but would rather get an abortion and go through getting pregnant again just because you wanted a different gender? It's ridiculous.
I think the one-child law is necessary. China as it stands today is dealing with an extreme class divide- if anyone's ever been to China, you'll know what it means. I've been to the countryside, where my father's brother lives in a brick house by the river. They have no air conditioning, an outhouse, running water for one sink that works part time, and five rooms in the entire house. That's two bedrooms, one main room, one eating room, and one kitchen. It might not sound bad, but the entire house could fit in my one family room. They're farmers, sustenance farmers. My uncle owns a shrimp farm; the shrimp they breed is shared with the whole small community and eaten. They farm their own food. They wash their clothes outside, in the river, and hang them dry. They have one bicycle, and no car or motorcycle. At the same time, my father's close friend holds a high and respected position in the city. He has his own chauffeur who drives his Cadillac for him, and is powerful and respected enough to get pretty much anything he wants. A mention of his name will get you in through pretty much any gate, door, or restaurant. It's not through fear that people obey him, but respect. He's a good guy. Does he work as hard as my uncle? I don't know, you can judge for yourself. The roads of BeiJing are full of Mercedes, Buicks, BMW's and Cadillacs. That's basically it- You'll see an occasional Toyota, Hyundai, or Honda, but rarely. How many people do you think can afford these cars? Not even the average person in the US can! There's really not much of a middle class in China. You're either poor or rich. Also, Impega is right. It's not 'illegal' to have more than one children. Another friend of my father who lives in China has two daughters and lives a comfortable life with his wife. They had to pay a large sum of money for having their second daughter, but if you can afford it, then it's perfectly fine. However, it is looked very much down upon. I think that's it. I know the one-child law seems horribly dictatorial, but I think it's reasonable and necessary when the circumstances call for it. EDIT: I don't mean to be off-topic, so on the subject of sex-selective abortions, I'm against it. I'm very much pro-choice (though I personally would not have an abortion, I believe it's your right to choose), but there's an line that you can't cross when it comes to choice. Abortion should only be done when absolutely necessary- it's not something that should be taken casually.
Sorry about the major grave dig, but I JUST read this article and I think participants of this board would find it interesting yet sad yet horrible. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20697844/