Selective abortions in China? Who else is disturbed?

Question

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1506469.stm

I hear about this mess in China and it makes me think, are people even in the "West" disappointed when they have a girl?Why do you think girls are aborted and abandoned? This makes me sad, and the world turns a blind eye..

Answer 1

Abortion on demand is horrible in any and all circumstances and I am disturbed that so many over the entire world see it as if it had no meaning at all.

Why would anyone being in favor or any abortion care why the abortion happened? Is it better to abort for no reason (other than it's "inconvenient" to the mother) or is it just bad when a reason is given? Is it just because it it aimed toward girl babies?

Being disturbed over China's abortions while agreeing with American's is like saying it is alright to be bigoted toward blacks with dark complexions but not those blacks who have light complexions.

The insanity parading as 'thought' here simply amazes me.

Answer 2

The issue is not just about abortion: infanticide is not uncommon in certain parts of the world.

Q: "are people even in the "West" disappointed when they have a girl?'
A: I actually remember a time when this was the case but not so much anymore. It will also vary culture-to-culture.

Q: 'Why do you think girls are aborted and abandoned?'
A: Dire poverty is primary reason along with culturally ingrained sexism, see http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html
for details.

"The world turns a blind eye" actually that's not the case. United Nations agencies have been doing all they can; there are NGO's doing their best too. The root cause - as I mentioned - is dire poverty and culturally ingrained sexism. In order for the practice to end these people need to be empowered with education and to be lifted out of poverty.

Answer 3

In Chinese thinking, giving birth to sons is better than having daughters. It IS sexist garbage because HOW do you people think men earn more money in the first place?? Yup - it's because of sexism at the workplace just like anywhere else. Men STILL typically run the show and are offered more money and more opportunities than women for advancement on the job. Men are NOT more qualified, but if you allow yourselves to believe that, then it won't change. I'm not saying this to bash the guys, but it is what it is. Men have been holding back women since the beginning of time, controlling who gets the best pay and the job offers because they don't want to see women in places of power. In today's world, you cannot assume that men all need to provide for families - deadbeat dads are at an all-time high. It's proven that men do not support as many families these days, and many men are openly gay, too. Times have changed and the women are bringing home the bacon and winning the bread. Let her live and work...Pay her decent money like any man. Aborting children just because you disapprove of the sex is not a good reason. When those males kill off the females - they can turn to each other for sweet lovin' at their sausagefest! Nighty-night, boys.

By the way - I love your Golden Girls avatar!

Answer 4

In China, the girls, in the PAST, have had very little value as far as helping the family. The were considered "maggots in the rice". meaning they took your food and gave nothing back.
The climate is changing. people are keeping the girls and the government has stopped fining families for keeping mre than one child. And in country adoptions are now taking place so that abandoned girls are adopted and have a chance at a life.
It is changing for the better, slowly but surely.

Answer 5

I believe the justification used to be that the males in the family are responsible for taking care of their elders as they got older, where the girls would go to the household of their husband's parents. So the boys brought a kind of security that they wouldn't get from the girls. I don't know if that is still the rational but that is where the custom came from. Girls over there just plain don't have the same value as the boys and we are seeing a lot of the little girl babies being adopted over to the USA.

EDIT to Object: I'm old enough to remember when having a girl baby was a disappointment to many. This was especially true before we knew that it was the guys who determine the sex, not the women. Many women would feel ashamed of giving their husbands a girl because he'd want a boy.

Answer 6

The only reason I'd be disappointed with having a daughter, is that she can't pass on my surname. But now with so many women rejecting their husbands' names, that's not really an issue anymore.

The main reason girls are aborted in China is because you can only have one child, and in China women are largely powerless, and as such, considered inferior to men, so having your only child a girl is undesirable. This is going to have catastrophic results later though, with a horrible sex imbalance, which will seriously affect future generations.

Answer 7

Because China is overpopulated and it's usually only allowed to have one child unless you have the income to PAY to have a second child. So a female child gets married and eventually loses the last name. While a male child continues on the family legacy by keeping the family name and continuing the line. As far as I know, the Chinese are very concerned with continuing their family legacy. So most families WANT a boy child. EDIT: AND the male child and his future wife are left with the responsibility of caring for his parents, while a female child is responsible for her husbands parents. If you have only a female child, you are left to care for yourself in your elderly years.

Answer 8

It's coming back to bite them, since they're running out of women to breed the next generation. Wanting a child of a certain gender is NOT a valid reason for abortion.

Answer 9

Of course it is disturbing. Sex-selective abortion and female infanticide are very disturbing. They were also common in China and other cultures. I'm from the north and Inuit history has female infanticide.

I don't think that sex-selective abortion can be made illegal (how can you enforce it anyway?) Without limiting other abortion freedoms. I believe that abortion is a basic right for women.

But it is a real problem for me. If I was a doctor and abortion was illegal than I would perform them whenever I could safely. But I could not agree to perform an abortion that I even thought was sex-selective

Answer 10

Still, you have to wonder what the long-term consequences of this practice will be. How many of those men will have to either move elsewhere to find a wife (and probably end up leaving their parents behind) or resign themselves to remaining single? For those who remain single, who will take care of them in their old age? They won't have any children to care for them and by then their parents will be dead. Look for retirement communities to care for these aged, single men to start cropping up.