So why is there this huge fuss about sex-selection abortion? If one can have an abortion for any reason or none, why not because a baby of the opposite sex is strongly preferred?
The reason is, as sex-selection abortion most clearly demonstrates,
that abortion is not just a private matter. The issue involves shared
societal values, cultural norms and clashes of cultural values and shows
that the cumulative impact of abortion has societal consequences.
Pro-choice advocates have long proposed that whether women can have
unfettered access to abortion should be the litmus test of whether a
society has respect for women and their rights. They argue this access
is required to protect women's rights to autonomy and self determination
- and to protect their dignity. Ironically, however, sex-selection
abortion is overwhelmingly the expression of a lack of respect for women
in cultures in which sons are highly valued and daughters are massively
devalued.
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