India: Sex selection about more than gender discrimination
I have to wonder how many of the abortions are 100% voluntary on the part of the women, and how many are due to pressure from their husbands. I mean, four abortions? That can’t be good for your health.
MOHOPADA, India — The arrival of Anu and Sanjay’s first daughter brought happiness to the family.
When the second daughter came along, they were still content — they could always have another. But after the third child — another girl — they decided to take action.
During Anu’s fourth pregnancy she and Sanjay went to a radiologist, who had been recommended by their gynecologist, in a town outside their village in Maharashtra in western India. For 600 rupees or about $14, the radiologist told the couple the bad news: a girl.
Anu returned to her gynecologist and aborted the fetus.
“Gender discrimination is there, but we have to confront the fact that there are also women making these choices.”
—Mara Hvistendahl, author of Unnatural Selection
‘My husband used to insist that he wants a son, that’s why I decided myself that I wanted to wait for a boy,’ Anu said in Marathi through a translator during a recent interview. ‘So I aborted.’
Anu and Sanjay, whose names have been changed due to the sensitivity of the story, tried again and again to have a son. By the end, Anu got pregnant eight times. She gave birth to four daughters and had four abortions.
As India develops and its middle class grows, the aborting of female fetuses is becoming more common. India’s 2011 census showed that the country’s child sex ratio, the number of girls to boys under age 7, is the worst it has been since India gained independence in 1947. […]
