Illegal Abortions Based Solely On Gender.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-lost-girls-illegal-abortion-widely-used-by-some-uk-ethnic-groups-to-avoid-daughters-has-reduced-female-population-by-between-1500-and-4700-9059790.html

Why the discrepancies, could it be that there is something being covered up for some reason?

/// A government investigation last year found no evidence that women living in the UK, but born abroad, were preferentially aborting girls. ///

/// However, our deeper statistical analysis of data from the 2011 National Census has shown widespread discrepancies in the sex ratio of children in some immigrant families, which can only be easily explained by women choosing to abort female foetuses in the hope of becoming quickly pregnant again with a boy. ///

/// The findings will reignite the debate over whether pregnant women should be legally allowed to know the sex of their babies following ultrasound scans at 13 weeks..///

[anotheoldgit]

Just as there are certain persons in these communities were some can get certain documentation from, ie Disabled Parking Blue Badges, free prescriptions etc, it doesn't take any stretch of the imagination where they can go to get illegal abortions.

[emmie]

ok,

[Sqad]

AOG.....exactly.

[emmie]

then the authorities need to stamp this out, wherever possible. If some British doctors are complicit they should be ashamed of themselves. Abortions on gender is asking for trouble, and they will get it bucket loads when they have more blokes than girls.

[youngmafbog]

They can't emmie. It is racist and only little Englanders do this.

[emmie]

shouldn't matter who you are, in UK no abortion should be carried out on the sole premise of gender selection. If it goes on it should be made clear to those who do it they will be prosecuted if caught.

[Zeuhl]

/They can't emmie. It is racist and only little Englanders do this/


When has anyone ever claimed that enforcing abortion laws was that?

Silly remark

[emmie]

perhaps as the post suggests parents are not told of the gender of the child, they are only told if there is a serious health issue that may necessitate in an abortion. But if you go to a doctor who has no scruples on aborting a child on the basis of it's gender then what can one do. Aren't records kept on abortions across the country, if its showing up certain areas, then maybe those areas need to be looked into, certain doctors practices?

[Fitzer]

According to the former Attorney General "the law does not, in terms, expressly prohibit gender-specific abortions; rather it prohibits any abortion carried out without two medical practitioners having formed a view, in good faith, that the health risks of continuing with a pregnancy outweigh those of termination". Therefore it is almost impossible to prove in the UK if the doctors involved are in cahoots. The article does discuss that it is not known if the abortions (if any) are performed in the UK or overseas.
The apparent discrepancy in the studies seems to arise from the fact that the Independent analysed incidence of male births in second children if the first child was a girl and found these to be significantly skewed from what would be expected in nature, implying that certain cultures accept the presence of a daughter but will seek to get a son by whatever means.

[emmie]

a proverbial minefield.

[bednobs]

the whole point about illegal abortions is that they are illegal - there can't be any "crackdown" because, strangely enough, they don't appear on official statistics.
Sqad, there are some people who cannot bear NOT to know, for various reasons, and not just gender selective abortions (me, for example :))
There are some parts of the countr where they don't tell you the sex at the anomaly scan (around 20 weeks) Although i'm not sure if it's because these areas have a higher incidence of cultures who may practice GSA

[Sqad]

bednobs

\\\\\Sqad, there are some people who cannot bear NOT to know,\\\\

Why?

How did those people who "cannot bear to know" manage pre-scans?

[emmie]

then parents shouldn't be told, if they are illegal abortions surely you need some degree of medical training, some area, surgery even where they can be carried out. Unless it's in a kitchen on the table, and that would put mother and child hugely at risk. Gender selection abortions really shouldn't be carried out, like choosing a child because of it's eye colour, though after fitzer response i wonder it can be cracked down upon, except for the authorities who know it goes on and turn a blind eye?

[ummmm]

When I was pregnant with my daughter it was the hospital policy not to tell the parents the sex of the baby. When I was pregnant with my sons they told you the sex at the 20 week scan.

Going by the thread the other day then you'd need a damn good reason for wanting an abortion after 20 weeks..

People want to know for various reasons. I didn't find out with my eldest son but I did with the youngest for practical reasons.

[bednobs]

sqad, i have no idea "why" just that i needed to know! And thatk goodness i didn't have to manage pre-scan :)

[Sqad]

bednobs....OK.

[bednobs]

emmie, there is a wealth of places one can obtain an abortion between kitchen table and NHS hospital

[emmie]

private clinics i know, where else.

[anneasquith]

slightly of topic. but there are few surprises left in life, but not knowing the sex of your baby until delivery is one,

[slaney]

I would think, if gender selection is indeed taking place in the UK, it is being done with the aid of private DNA testing on a fingerprick sample from seven weeks onwards.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14457670
It would then be relatively easy to ask for an abortion on other grounds, and the doctors signing the form would be unaware.