San Francisco politicians fight to keep sex-selective abortion legal

The problem of sex-selective abortion is a growing one. Over 100 million girls are missing because of it, and that number is rapidly growing. An issue that is commonly associated with Asian countries is also happening in the United States. Because of this, many states have begun banning the practice of sex-selection abortions. But San Francisco is fighting tooth and nail to make sure that sex-selective abortion remains legal there, with San Francisco supervisors leading the fight. Mayor Ed Lee is expected to support the measure as well.

“A coalition of Asian American and reproductive rights, health and justice organizations has formed to educate the public about the stereotyping inherent in sex-selective abortion bans, to condemn the rhetoric of ban advocates as deeply offensive, and to organize to defeat such discriminatory policies,” quoth the resolution. Activists contend that bans on sex-selection abortion, which have been passed in eight states, are designed to limit access to abortion, not gender-based feticide.

In a press release issued by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, Chiu said: “The rhetoric used by legislators advocating these measures is perpetuating racial stereotypes, is deeply offensive and can lead to the denial of health care services to women. No woman should ever be scrutinized by her doctor based on her racial or ethnic background, but this is exactly what a sex-selective abortion ban encourages.”

When we talked on the phone Thursday, Chiu told me: “There is no evidence that sex-selective abortions are happening in the United States. The legislative bans are based on racial stereotypes. We shouldn’t be passing laws that could potentially cause doctors to not provide care or consider turning women in to authorities for these laws.”

While it is a comforting notion to dismiss the idea of sex-selective abortion happening in the United States, it unfortunately is not true. Live Action’s Gendercide investigation showed that abortionists are all too happy to kill an unborn baby simply because he or she happens to be the wrong sex. And for most people, the idea of aborting a baby just because the child happens to be the wrong sex is so abhorrent that the majority of Americans support sex-selective abortion bans.

Multiple other countries have outlawed the practice, including the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and — ironically — China. So San Francisco is aiming to make themselves even more extreme than a country that exercises some of the most despicable human rights abuses of our time… and they’re doing so in the name of women’s rights.