Where should Pro-Choice draw the line..
After yesterday's little discussion with Pilgram, I came upon this interesting article..
Should a woman's choice extend to aborting a female foetus?
In India the practice of aborting female foetuses is thought to be widespread. (I'm sure the same occurs in China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other countries). Is this where pro-choicers should draw the line?
Up to 6 million foetuses were aborted because they were female in India in the last decade, according to the Lancet.
A pro-choice Catholic reader wrote to the Guardian last week to say: "As much as it's every woman's right to choose not to terminate a pregnancy, it's also her right to choose the opposite action. Every person has the right to complete sovereignty over their own body, and the right to deal with whatever consequences exercising that choice involves."
But should this freedom extend to aborting foetuses simply because they are female?
In north India, although the practice is illegal, it is widespread. A recent paper in the Lancet estimates that between 3 and 6 million abortions have been carried out on female foetuses in the last decade, simply because of their sex.
So, is this something feminists should support? Is it a point at which choice becomes illegitimate? And what can we do about it in a world of globalised medicine?
Source: The Guardian
Even in certain parts of the UK (Bradford) where there is a large Asian population, the health authorities are not allowed to reveal the sex of the baby to the parents. This is not so in other parts of the UK, what does this tell you?
"Every woman has the right in both ways because it is her body"
And that is the crux of the article. Does the right to abort also give her the right to choose what she aborts ..
That everyone must watch the movie.. I have seen it and it gave me goosebumps..
MatrubhoomiFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women
Movie poster for Matrubhoomi
Directed by Manish Jha
Produced by Patrick Sobelman, Punkej Kharbanda
Written by Manish Jha
Starring Tulip Joshi, Sudhir Pandey, Sushant Singh, Aditya Srivastava
Music by Salim Merchant, Sulaiman Merchant
Cinematography Venu Gopal
Editing by Ashmith Kunder, Shirish Kunder
Release date(s) 17 December 2003
Running time 93 minutes
Country India
Language Hindi
Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (Bhojpuri/Hindi: मातृभूमि, translation: Motherland) is a 2003 Indian film written and directed by Manish Jha. The film examines the impact of female foeticide and female infanticide on the gender balance, and consequently the stability and attitudes of society. Its storyline bears some resemblance to real-life instances of gender imbalance and economics resulting in fraternal polyandry and bride buying in some parts of India. [1] It depicts a future dystopia in an Indian village populated exclusively by males due to female infanticide over the years.[2]
The film received widespread critical acclaim [3] and was shown at the film festivals through 2003, including the 2003 Venice Film Festival, where it was presented in the Critic's Week (Parallel Sections) and later awarded the FIPRESCI Award "For it's [sic] important theme on women's issues and female infanticide handled with sensitivity by a first-time director".[4][5]
Contents [hide]
1 Synopsis
2 Development and production
3 Themes
4 Release
5 Awards
6 Cast
7 References
8 External links
[edit] SynopsisThe film begins in a rural village in Bihar[6], with the delivery of a baby girl to a village couple. Her disappointed father, who was hoping for a boy, drowns her in vat of milk in a public ceremony. Many years later somewhere around 2050 AD.[6], this unchecked trend leads to the village being populated solely by males. The now uncouth and aggressive young men of the village are desperate for wives, and release their frustration through group screenings of imported pornographic films, cross-dressed dance performances, and even bestiality. They are shown to be willing to go to the lengths of human trafficking and courtship driven emigration in order to procure spouses for themselves.
The wealthy father Ramcharan (Sudhir Pandey) of five boys finds out about a single young woman, named Kalki (Tulip Joshi), living some distance from the village, and literally buys her from her father. She is then married to all five sons. Each night of the week, she is forced to sleep with one of the sons, and even the father gets his weekly night with her. Of all the men in the boorish lot, only the youngest son treats her with respect and tenderness.
When the youngest son is killed by his jealous brothers, and an escape attempt with a sympathetic domestic servant goes lethally awry, she becomes a pawn of revenge in an inter-community conflict, and an unwilling object of sexual release for even more men. She is chained to a post in the cow shed and gang raped mercilessly night after night. The film ends on a violent but hopeful note, as she bears a baby girl while the men of the village kill each other off over rights to her and her child.[2][7]
Every woman has the right in both ways because it is her body, however, with what was been denominated in India such thing was I think became a culture and because of this women really succumb to what is in their very front yard. This happenings needs some thorough education. Women in this states should be empowered so they could empower their families too and from there, into their communities.
This abortion of female fetuses is a remarkable discrimination of women per se. Women crisis in India should try to look into this I guess as the first room for any empowerment.
I'm glad it is illegal. That it is going on illegally is evident in the birth rate--70% male in some areas amongst certain social groups.
FMit is illegal in India for the doctors to disclose the sex of the foetus. That they do it is a different matter but if they are caught, they get severe punishment.
To the OP:
It predominant in Asian countries because the cultural value placed on having males. In India, it is particularly prevalent amongst middleclass families, because they can afford scans to tell the parents the sex of the child. The same is probably true in China, but India has been more studied. The evidence is obvious in the distortion in the gender balance. It should be 51% male 49% female but amongst middling families in some districts it is as high at 70% male. Some refer to it as gendercide and estimate losses of up to 50 million female fetuses in Asia.
Here are a couple of articles:
http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-393896/Genocide-Indias-daughters.html
Here is an advocacy/campaigning group's site:
http://50millionmissing.wordpress.com/
The real issue here is not pro-choice; it is about culture preference for males and the need for these cultures to embrace the idea of women's equality.
That's it.. Blame the man!
The man and only the man is responsible for the sex of the baby.. The poor woman has got nothing to do with it..
I've read all that online Drsam, and so far haven't gotten anything from a reliable source. Sounds like old wives tales to me.
many parameters are envolved.mainly:
- XX is slower but has more endurance while XY is faster
- XX likes basic surrounding whereas XY prefers acidic.
- time and frequency of intercourse: long or many, XX favored. XY for "quickies"...
i have absolutely no evidence to support what i'm saying!
( i have but won't disclose them)
both father and mother can influence the outcome for some degree.
oh i hate biology... it forced me to opt commerce
Drsam the males semen carries the x or y gene that determines sex. Women's eggs are always x.
thinking wrongly (crazy men need a lesson in biology) that its the woman who is responsible for the sex of the baby
who is responsible than?
In India doctors are not allowed to disclose the sex of the child before birth so everything about these abortions is illegal.
See every religion and society has its own way to deal with this.. Hindus in India abort their female foetuses whereas the Muslims in Pakistan try to follow Islam and its principals so they keep on having babies one after the other till they get a boy or sometimes the man goes and gets a second wife thinking wrongly (crazy men need a lesson in biology) that its the woman who is responsible for the sex of the baby.. I know and i have seen several such cases where Pakistani couples have as many as 6 to 7 daughters just because they keep on trying for a son.. Some people think that the end justifies the means.. Indians abort the female foetus whereas the Pakistanis keep on having a dozen daughters just to get a son.. In the end, what they both want is a son to carry the family's name and to look after them in their old age and also to bring in the dowry instead of them giving the dowry..
feminists can't support killing female foetus, but according to their own rule, the mother decide (each has her reasons and reasoning) to terminate her pregnancy or not. so it's not illegal.
Who's argument is to simplistic?
Sorry. Too simplistic an argument..
The direct/indirect pressure from parents/in-laws/husband/friends forces her into making that choice..
Then whose choice?
The abortion of female foetuses in India isn't because of the mother's choice.
The punishment for the abortion should be the same as the punishment for murder.
for those who do it because they dont want a female child or a male child,
Its a gods gift, there is no difference we cannot just kill them for our wish!!!!
Which country or the continent is not the matter, the thing is they are killing human,born or unborn is not the matter but it is happening,There should be a step taken for this though out the world, I dont know what is the world organizations doing, There should be a law implemented and strict rules to be made only then it can be stoped!!!!
But it is pretty wide spread in India and China. Aborting a foetus is haraam and illegal and immortal and inhuman.. Whether male or female.. To kill another human being even if it is just a few weeks old is unacceptable unless or until it is under dire circumstances like for instance to save the mother's life...
I know in Canada they actually forbid doctors from telling couples of the sex of the child to prevent aborting of female fetuses. (I'm not sure if they still do it, but I know they did it up till 4 years ago when my cousin was born).
It really is a difficult question, because on one extent women should have the right to choose if they want to have a baby or not, and part of me says if they are willing to abort a female baby, they probably aren't going to treat her very well when she is born, so perhaps no being born is a better option.
Of course India and China are already facing the consequences of aborting so many girls....
then why did u post the countries above ? :(
U Penguin with furr !
I'm sure you're right.. The focus is not on the country , but the action..
why all the asian countries only ! isnt it practiced in European countries as well ?