Editing Abortion (section)

===Sex-selective abortion===
{{Main|Sex-selective abortion}}

[[Medical ultrasonography|Sonography]] and [[amniocentesis]] allow parents to determine sex before childbirth. The development of this technology has led to [[sex-selective abortion and female infanticide|sex-selective abortion]], or the termination of a fetus based on its sex. The selective termination of a female fetus is most common.

Sex-selective abortion is partially responsible for the noticeable disparities between the birth rates of male and female children in some countries. The preference for male children is reported in many areas of Asia, and abortion used to limit female births has been reported in Taiwan, South Korea, India, and China.<ref>Banister, Judith. (16 March 1999). [https://www.census.gov/ipc/www/ebspr96a.html Son Preference in Asia&nbsp;– Report of a Symposium] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216134324/http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/ebspr96a.html |date=16 February 2006 }}. Retrieved 12 January 2006.</ref> This deviation from the standard birth rates of males and females occurs despite the fact that the country in question may have officially banned sex-selective abortion or even sex-screening.<ref>{{cite news| vauthors = Reaney P |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L06779563.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220072756/http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L06779563.htm |archive-date=20 February 2006 |title=Selective abortion blamed for India's missing girls |access-date=3 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sudha S, Irudaya RS | title = Female demographic disadvantage in India 1981-1991: sex selective abortions and female infanticide | journal = Development and Change | volume = 30 | issue = 3 | pages = 585–618 | date = July 1999 | pmid = 20162850 | doi = 10.1111/1467-7660.00130 | s2cid = 33446683 | url = http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/organizations/healthnet/gender/docs/sudha.html | access-date = 3 December 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030101210623/http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/organizations/healthnet/gender/docs/sudha.html | archive-date = 1 January 2003 | url-access = subscription }}</ref><ref name="LOC India">{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/sex-selection/india.php|publisher=Library of Congress|title=Sex Selection & Abortion: India|date=4 April 2011|access-date=18 July 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927234151/http://www.loc.gov/law/help/sex-selection/india.php|archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|agency=Xinhua News Agency|title=China Bans Sex-selection Abortion|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2003/Mar/59194.htm|access-date=2023-02-16|work=www.china.org.cn|date=March 22, 2003|archive-date=12 February 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212204114/http://www.china.org.cn/english/2003/Mar/59194.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many countries have taken legislative steps to reduce the incidence of sex-selective abortion. At the [[International Conference on Population and Development]] in 1994 over 180 states agreed to eliminate "all forms of discrimination against the girl child and the root causes of son preference",<ref name="UNFPA">{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2011/Preventing_gender-biased_sex_selection.pdf|title=Preventing gender-biased sex selection|publisher=UNFPA|access-date=1 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011095023/https://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2011/Preventing_gender-biased_sex_selection.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> conditions also condemned by a [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|PACE]] resolution in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc11/EDOC12715.pdf |title=Prenatal sex selection |publisher=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003133834/http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc11/EDOC12715.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2011 |access-date=17 November 2015 }}</ref> The [[World Health Organization]] and [[UNICEF]], along with other [[United Nations]] agencies, have found that measures to restrict access to abortion in an effort to reduce sex-selective abortions have unintended negative consequences, largely stemming from the fact that women may seek or be coerced into seeking unsafe, extralegal abortions.<ref name="UNFPA" /> On the other hand, measures to reduce [[gender inequality]] can reduce the prevalence of such abortions without attendant negative consequences.<ref name="UNFPA" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Das Gupta |first=Monica |date=2019 |title=Is banning sex-selection the best approach for reducing prenatal discrimination? |journal=Asian Population Studies |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=319–336|doi=10.1080/17441730.2019.1671015 |pmid=34046078 |pmc=8153244 }}</ref>