Is It Ok To Have An Abortion On The Grounds Of Gender?

[Ellipsis]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10290200/Abortion-laws-left-meaningless-as-doctors-put-above-the-law.html

Following the decision not to prosecute two doctors who agreed to arrange abortions of baby girls purely because of their gender, even though there was enough evidence to charge those doctors, it seems fair to say that Britain's abortion legislation has become, up to 24 weeks at least, "meaningless".

Is it acceptable that a woman can de facto have an abortion on any grounds, including gender?

[boxtops]

Wrong. I was listening to a programme on the BBC World Service the other night from China, where in some areas the ratio of marriageable men to women in something like 28:1 - many mothers aborted girls during the "1 child only "policy, on the grounds that a boy would look after them in their old age. There are now many thousands of young or not so young men who can't find a local girl to marry. It's wrong.

[albaqwerty]

what is the time limit on an abortion these days please?

Whatever it is, I think it should be reduced to say, 12 weeks?

Chill, I've heard nasty stories about late stage abortions which are not for this forum.

[Ellipsis]

If you don't think abortion is acceptable under any or most circumstances then that's fine, but this question isn't really about that.

It's more about whether you're OK with abortion on all grounds, and using gender as a grounds for debate.

[chelle7272]

It's 24 weeks in the UK

[albaqwerty]

thanks Chelle.

IF any gender is carrying an illness/disease that will impact negatively on their life, then that is entirely up the parents about abortion.

If it's just about the gender, then no, that's wrong.

[ChillDoubt]

Chill, I've heard nasty stories about late stage abortions which are not for this forum.
-------------
Very true alba. It was after one too many such instances that I approached my manager and informed her that I no longer wished to be assigned to Gynae Theatre as a matter of course and would certainly not be present.
Thankfully, we ceased performing STOP's (Suction Termination Of Pregnancy) some 8 years ago.

[ClaryS]

Sorry, on reflection Abortion is not Murder, its Homicide.

[boxtops]

It's 24 weeks, which is ridiculous considering the babies born early before that date, which the NHS fights to keep alive in the SCBUs.

[boxtops]

I don't think we have homicide in the UK, do we?

[mccfluff]

i believe that its up to the woman, but personally abortion on the grounds of gender is wrong

[pixie373]

If abortion is legal, it can't be murder. I think it's morally wrong to abort a foetus due to its sex, but legally, i think doctors are allowed to if it endangers the mental or physical health of the mother. Perhaps that's what they decided?

[Ellipsis]

> I believe that its up to the woman, but personally abortion on the grounds of gender is wrong

The law is that it isn't solely up to the woman, it's at least partly up to the doctor. The doctor has to assess whether denying an abortion would harm the physical or mental wellbeing of the woman.

That is the law, and in the case in the OP the abortions were very probably, strictly speaking, against the law.

However the de facto position, as this case demonstrates, is that if the woman wants an abortion the woman can get an abortion - even if it's on the grounds of gender selection.

[nohorn]

It is no one's business why I have an abortion if it is acceptable to me. Yes, I am getting independent in my old age.

[mccfluff]

my opinion is that its up to the woman, no one else

[Ellipsis]

> It is no one's business why I have an abortion if it is acceptable to me.

Again, that is not the legal position. So is the law wrong? Should we just simply allow all abortions under 24 weeks, even on such contentious grounds as gender selection?

[pixie373]

I think they can only argue it by saying the woman would be distressed to have a girl, so not in her best interests. While i can't agree with the reasoning, i think the law is so unspecific, they could say they acted lawfully.

[Ellipsis]

The Crown Prosecution Service has told two doctors, who were exposed by an undercover Daily Telegraph investigation last year, that they will not be charged even though there was enough evidence, because it did not consider the issue to be in the public interest.

i.e. the doctors weren't even charged, even though there was enough evidence to charge.

Note that it wasn't the woman who would have been charged, it was the doctors.

[atalanta]

It is not many thousands of men who can't marry in China - it is many millions.
It is estimated that by the middle of this century there could be 80,000,000 reluctant bachelors in China. That's eighty million, in case you think I have put more zeros than I meant to put. That means there will be many hundreds of highly aggressive gangs who will kidnap and rape women, or who will invade neighbouring countries to kidnap women. Except that many neigbouring countries have the same problem. And don't think that women will attain a higher status - they won't. Women will be used as chattels. Already, rich chinese families are buying girls from poor families and bringing them up as future brides for their sons. Unfortunately, these prisoner-wives are almost always bitterly unhappy.
That's what you get when son-preference is taken to the ultimate.
If anyone wants to know where I got the facts, reply , and I'll check some titles on a notable book-supply website.

[Old_Geezer]

Abortion should not be seen as just another form of contraception so I have never believed it should be open season. It should be agreed permissible in special cases such as when the mother's health is at risk or when a case can be made that it is the lesser of two evils. That is clearly not the case where daft culture rules encourage some to skew the male/female ration for the parents own benefit (and to the detriment of society generally). If one opts to try for a child then the parents should accept the responsibilities that come with whoever forms.

[Old_Geezer]

RATIO
as typed >:-(