For decades, sex-selective abortions have prevented the birth of millions of women around the world. And this is not without consequences …
Although some countries no longer officially perform ultrasounds during pregnancy to avoid revealing the sex of the fetus to parents, some health professionals do so illegally. Having a girl rather than a boy is still too often frowned upon in the world, especially when demographic pressure forces the only child into the household. These sex-selective abortions, carried out for decades, are beginning to have a considerable impact on the balance of societies and this should increase in the next ten years.
Since the 1970s, this phenomenon, present in particular in China, India and ten other countries, has resulted in the non-birth or disappearance of 23 to 45 million women, according to a study published in the journal BMJ Global Health and included in an article in Science Alert. She predicts that these nations will suffer an additional “loss” of nearly 4.7 million female births in the next decade, i.e. by 2030.
To demonstrate their predictions, the scientists worked on a model based on 3.26 billion birth certificates from 204 countries. They were able to identify 12 nations among which, evidence of an asymmetric sex ratio emerged. 17 other countries also present a risk of turning in the same direction.
As a result, by 2100, the study estimates that there would be far fewer women living in these countries (especially China and India which account for 95% of sex-selective abortions). The study predicts that there will be 5.7 million fewer women in these countries as a consequence of this selection on the sex of the unborn child. A real imbalance which will not be without consequences on the balance of these populations.
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Sustainable cultural and social impacts
By creating a shortage of women, serious repercussions are to be expected. Indeed, looking at the case of China and India, men outnumber the opposite sex 70 million today, according to Science Alert. This “shortage” makes it more difficult for men from these countries to get married and, for example, encourages Chinese men to buy their “fiancées” in Vietnam with unscrupulous people. According to Radio France internationale, it would be “Organized and lucrative traffic”, who “Has been put in place in recent years”.
In addition to the dangers posed by this situation for women, both adults and minors, other harmful aspects for women will emerge. The decrease in marriages may thus lead to an increase in loneliness, an increase in violence but also other forms of trafficking in women and prostitution.
The study does, however, share a few “positives”. Indeed, the imbalance between the female and male sexes is showing signs of slowing down in India and China. Government officials are now pushing for female births and placing restrictions on sex-selective abortions. Despite everything, the phenomenon is far from having completely disappeared.
Measures must be necessary to rebalance births, as in Albania or Vietnam, but also to anticipate the phenomenon towards other countries which are beginning to turn their preferences towards boys. If this is not respected, the study predicts a “disappearance” of women amounting to 22 million people, in addition to the 5 million already announced for 2030.
While abortion is an indisputable right of women, in some cases it can be dictated by norms and society. For scientists, the results underscore the need to monitor the balance of births in countries at risk. “Policy planning will be needed in the coming years to minimize future prenatal gender discrimination and its impact on social structures”, according to them.
To see also: “No woman has recourse to abortion with a cheerful disposition”
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