With the advance of pre-natal testing, it is possible for pregnant mothers to know not only the gender of their unborn child but also many other physical characteristics. For example, a physician could determine if the unborn child has certain medical conditions – diseases, malformations, organ problems, etc. This kind of pre-natal testing can be profoundly helpful in treating some conditions in utero or for preparing parents and medical personnel for the birth of a child with potentially major medical challenges.
Unfortunately, in our abortion-on-demand culture, pre-natal testing is also used to get rid of children with disabilities. So-called 'selective abortion' takes several different forms. In the case of multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.), doctors sometime identify one or several of the 'weaker' children and kill them to 'reduce' the number of children born. Abortion is also used eugenically to discriminate against and kill pre-born babies who are handicapped. In some places (areas of rural China and India, for example), 'selective abortion' is being used to kill unborn girls for reasons of gender discrimination. These are called 'sex selection' abortions.
China's One-Child Policy
The Chinese government, concerned that their population will outnumber their resources, has long prohibited families from having more than one child. They have enforced this policy through coercion, forced abortion, and infanticide. With the prospect of just one child, most families hope for a boy to carry on their family name; girls are therefore seen as “undesirable”. Many families obtain illegal ultrasounds to determine the gender of their unborn child (ultrasound for non-medical purposes has been illegal in China for 10 years). Often, if that child is female, she will be aborted. As Americans, we are rightly appalled that citizens could be coerced either not to have children or to abort their unborn children.
Amidst a culture that allows only one child per family and strongly favors male heirs, China is now realizing the severe problem that they have created. According to a 2000 census, China now has about 117 boys for each 100 girls: they have created a nation of bachelors. (In most populations, the ratio is 104 boys to 100 girls.) A Christian Science Monitor (CSM) article stated that social scientists believe that as many as 15% of Chinese men will not have wives. Additionally, according to the most recent State Department Human Rights Report, one consequence of “the country's birth limitation policies” is that 56% of the world's female suicides occur in China, five times the world average and approximately 500 suicides per day. Chinese women are emotionally devastated by the hostility of their country toward children and motherhood.
For the last two decades, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has defended the atrocious Chinese population control program. The former executive director of UNFPA, Nafis Sadik, boasts, “China has every reason to feel proud of and pleased with its remarkable achievements made in its family planning policy. The country could offer its experiences and special expertise to help other countries.” On CBS Nightwatch, the director reported, “The UNFPA firmly believes, and so does the government of the People's Republic of China, that their program is a totally voluntary program.”
Thankfully, the Bush Administration has consistently withheld funds from UNFPA. On July 15, 2004, the Bush Administration issued a letter in which Secretary Powell said, “China continues to employ coercion in its birth planning program, including through severe penalties for 'out of plan births'… UNFPA continues its support and involvement in China's coercive birth limitation program in counties where China's restrictive law and penalties are enforced by government officials.”