Sex Selective Abortion Gains Ground in the West

[Valin]

Via Meadia:

10/9/13

 

Two startling stories about sex selective abortion in the West hit papers this week. First is one about Dr. Mark Hobart, an Australian doctor who is under investigation for refusing to preform a sex selective abortion and then failing to refer the couple seeking the abortion to another doctor. Dr. Hobart could lose his job or even his medical license. The investigation has apparently been going on for five months now, but it has just started to generate more media and political attention, with an MP recently speaking out on his behalf.

 

(Snip)

 

But when viewed in conjunction with the news out of Britain, the picture begins to look more troubling. In recent weeks, the British government has decided not to prosecute two doctors who were caught on tape agreeing to arrange sex-selective abortions. One defense the government has offered of its position is that it would be impossible to determine if the abortions were preformed solely for gender reasons, or if, in addition to the gender reasons, there were also other health factors involved.

 

(Snip)

 

Were not lawyers here at Via Meadia, but even we can see how a medical establishment committed to the view that sex selective abortions are sometimes appropriate could wiggle its way out of that language. When you pair that with recent investigations finding that UK doctors often sign off on abortions without investigating the womans motives for seeking one, you have an environment ripe for abuse of the spirit of the law, if not the letter.