Maintaining Access to Safe Abortion and Reducing Sex Ratio Imbalances in Asia

High sex ratios at birth (108 boys to 100 girls or higher) are seen in China, Taiwan, South Korea and ports of India and Viet Nam. The imbalance is the result of son preference, accentuated by declining fertility. Prenatal sex detection with ultrasound followed by second trimester abortion is one of the ways sex selection manifests itself but it is not the causative factor. Advocates and governments seeking to reverse this imbalance have largely prohibited sex detection tests and/or sex selective abortion, assuming these measures would reverse the trend. Such policies hove been difficult to enforce and have met with only limited success. At the some time, such policies are starting to hove adverse effects on the already limited access to safe and legal second trimester abortion for reasons other than sex selection. Moreover, the sex selection issue is being used as a platform for anti-abortion rhetoric by certain groups. Maintaining access to safe abortion and achieving a decline in high sex ratios are both important goals. Both ore possible if the focus shifts to addressing the conditions that drive son preference. (c) 2008 Reproductive Health Matters. All rights reserved.