I heard a terribly disturbing report on NPR on Tuesday. Apparently, so many pregnant women in India abort their female fetuses that the ratio of boys to girls is skewed. The killing of girl babies continues at a high rate despite the fact that abortion for sex-selection is illegal. It’s not just the poor who are aborting their daughters; the rich do it too. In the Punjab region, the wealthiest part of India, there are 100 boys to every 80 girls.
The Lancet, the British medical journal, estimates that 10 million female fetuses have been aborted in the last 20 years. In the Punjab region, the richest part of India, there are 100 boys to every 80 girls.
Girls are valued less in India because they cost their families money. Even though dowries are illegal, many grooms demand some sort of payment before they will take a woman as their wife. Girls are regarded as lesser, and sometimes not worth anything at all.
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