Should Sex-Selection Abortions be Delayed Until 30 Weeks?
A new editorial published by the “Canadian Medical Association Journal” (CMAJ) urges doctors to delay telling parents the sex of their unborn child until at least 30 weeks gestation.
Dr. Rajendra Kale has written an editorial following up on an article written by Lauren Vogel that describes the migration of sex selection to Canada. With a growing South and East Asian population, Canada is dealing with more requests for the procedure that allows them to know whether the unborn child is male or female. According to research conducted in Canada, the ratio of boys to girls increases with second and third pregnancies.
Canada currently has a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof. Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to protection and equal benefit without discrimination based on…sex.”
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Kerry Bowman, a bioethicist at the University of Toronto, writes, “It [sex selection] really works against everything we believe in Canada in terms of equality. At the very least, it would be fair to ask why a couple wants to know the gender of their child… because that in itself is not directly linked to the health or well-being of the child, except in rare cases of sex-linked diseases or disorders.”
Dr. Kale’s editorial suggests doctors “postpone the disclosure of medically irrelevant information to women until after about 30 weeks of pregnancy.” He writes, “The sex of the fetus is medically irrelevant information (except when managing rare sex-linked illnesses) and does not affect care.”
Here in the United States, a bill by the name of PreNDA (Prenatal NonDiscrimination Act) would ban abortions based on determine gender or race. Representative Trent Franks is chairing the bill. Women’s rights activists, led by Nancy Northup have argued against the bill, saying “This bill is a cynical and offensive attempt to evoke race and sex discrimination when actually it’s about taking women’s rights away.”
Christians argue that all children are created by God and should not be denied life for any reason, including gender. One comment shared on The Daily Caller stated, “The problem would be solved if America would go back to its moral roots. Every child is a creation of God and should be accepted as such.”
The Christian Post reached out to Dr. Kale for comment but has not heard back.
