Abortion of Girls before Birth

[ErasOmnius]

In India, where in some communities, sons are highly prized, and daughters are not, gender-selection abortion and female young-girl infanticide has skyrocketed.

But as far as the abortion and privacy laws goes, this really is nothing anyone can do, as long as the right to privacy trumps the right to life, before birth.

[Andrew]

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

I assume guy marries girl? A monogomous marriage?

So if females are in high demand because there are a lot less of them to be married off, you would think someone would want female children to get more dowry when they marry. I thought in part of India prearranged marriages existed as well, and thus increased dowry would be had for female. But I'd have to assume cultural thing where men are valued more than women.

[MrFlibble]

It is a long-standing tradition in India to value male children a lot more than female ones, and you're right that is has to do with marriage practices. A boy in the family strengthens it, taking a wife into his and his parents' household, while a girl means certain necessity for expenditures on the dowry and other wedding preparations, without any gain for the parents to be had from their daughter's marriage.

It's deplorable that modern technologies are used to deal with this issue in such a way though.

[Lord J]

The only point I have to make here is that this illustrates the problem with traditionalistic thought and modern technology/legislation. Not that abortion is necessarily modern, but these are clearly people who are being drug along into the modern world while dragging along traditional beliefs and values that are biologically harmful in the present context.

[ErasOmnius]

It would be great if they could be taught both the 'right to life' for people before birth, and love for all of their female children.