scholarly journals Harmful Anti-Sex-Selective Abortion Laws Are Sweeping U.S. State Legislatures: Why do Some Pro-choice People Support Them?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sital Kalantry
Keyword(s):  
Asian Americans ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
State Legislatures ◽  
The United States ◽  
Selective Abortion ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
Abortion Laws ◽  
Sex Selective Abortion ◽  
India And China ◽  
Pro Choice

Anti-sex selective abortion laws punish medical professionals for performing abortions if they know that the patient’s motive for the abortion relates to the predicted biological sex of the fetus. Since 2009, nearly half of all state legislatures have considered bills to prohibit sex-selective abortion. The majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a similar ban in 2012. That same year, anti-sex-selective legislation was the second most proposed anti-abortion prohibition in the United States. Today ten states have enacted the bans, though they are (partially) unenforceable in three states.The laws stigmatize and stereotype Asian Americans, restrict women’s access to non-selective abortion, and are likely unconstitutional. Yet, elected officials who are pro-choice have voted in favor of the bans. Liberal media sources wrongly report that Asian Americans are aborting female fetuses at rates similar to people in India and China. Pro-choice people appear to be torn about how to react to these particular abortion restrictions.

scholarly journals Sex-selective Abortion Bans: Anti-immigrant or Anti-abortion?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sital Kalantry
Keyword(s):  
Asian Americans ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sex Selection ◽  
Asian Immigrants ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Selective Abortion ◽  
Family Balancing ◽  
Sex Selective Abortion

In the last five years, over half of the state legislatures in the United States have considered banning sex-selective abortion because of the (false) belief that Asian Americans are disproportionately giving birth to more boys than are European Americans. Supported by the data that applies to a very small subset of Asian Americans, proponents of the law stereotype Asian Americans by assuming that their birthing patterns are the same as those of people in India and China.Because of the undue focus on Asian immigrants in the discussions of sex selection bans, the real conversation that should occur in the American democratic system is short-circuited. States legislators and voters fail to discuss whether or not sex selection is a gateway to eugenics concerns, whether or not sex selection perpetuates gender stereotypes, and whether or not sex selection should be used for family balancing. Any bans on sex-selective abortion should take these issues into account and should not be based on misinformed views about the practices of Asian immigrants in the United States.Published: Sital Kalantry, "Sex-Selective Abortion Bans: Anti-Immigration or Anti-Abortion?", 16 Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (2015)

scholarly journals Sex-selective Abortion Bans are Not Associated with Changes in Sex Ratios at Birth in Illinois and Pennsylvania

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sital Kalantry
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
State Legislatures ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sex Selection ◽  
Sex Ratio At Birth ◽  
Selective Abortion ◽  
Sex Selective Abortion ◽  
Newborn Children

Legal prohibitions on sex-selective abortions are proliferating in the United States. Eight state legislatures have banned abortions sought on the basis of the sex of the fetus, 21 states have considered such laws since 2009, and a similar bill is pending in U.S. Congress. These laws have been introduced and enacted without any empirical data about their impact or effectiveness. Prior studies of U.S. Census data found sex ratios among foreign-born Chinese, Korean and Indian immigrants were skewed in favor of boys, but only in families where there were already one or two girls. Using the variation in the timing of bans in Illinois and Pennsylvania as natural experiments, we compare the pre-ban and post-ban sex ratios of certain Asian newborn children in these states over 12-year periods. We then compare these ratios with the sex ratios of Asian newborn children in neighboring states during the same period. We find that the bans in Illinois and Pennsylvania are not associated with any changes in sex ratios at birth among Asians. In Illinois and its neighboring states, the sex ratio at birth of Asian children was not male-biased during our study period. On the other hand, the sex ratio at birth among Asians in Pennsylvania and its neighboring states was skewed slightly in favor of boys, but the enactment of the ban did not normalize the sex ratio. This strongly suggests that sex-selective abortion bans have had no impact on the practice of sex selection, to the extent that it occurs, in these states. This finding is highly relevant to legislative and policy debates in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures where sex-selective abortion laws are being considered.Published: Sex-selective Abortion Bans are Not Associated with Changes in Sex Ratios at Birth in Illinois and Pennsylvania (with Arindam Nandi and Brian Citro), Forum on Health and Economic Policy, December 2014 (peer-reviewed journal).

scholarly journals Sex-selective Abortion Bans are Not Associated with Changes in Sex Ratios at Birth among Asian Populations in Illinois and Pennsylvania

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-64
Author(s):  
Arindam Nandi ◽  
Sital Kalantry ◽  
Brian Citro
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
State Legislatures ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sex Selection ◽  
Sex Ratio At Birth ◽  
Selective Abortion ◽  
Sex Selective Abortion ◽  
Newborn Children

Abstract Legal prohibitions on sex-selective abortions are proliferating in the United States. Eight state legislatures have banned abortions sought on the basis of the sex of the fetus, 21 states have considered such laws since 2009, and a similar bill is pending in U.S. Congress. These laws have been introduced and enacted without any empirical data about their impact or effectiveness. Prior studies of U.S. Census data found sex ratios among foreign-born Chinese, Korean and Indian immigrants were skewed in favor of boys, but only in families where there were already one or two girls. Using the variation in the timing of bans in Illinois and Pennsylvania as natural experiments, we compare the pre-ban and post-ban sex ratios of certain Asian newborn children in these states over 12-year periods. We then compare these ratios with the sex ratios of Asian newborn children in neighboring states during the same period. We find that the bans in Illinois and Pennsylvania are not associated with any changes in sex ratios at birth among Asians. In Illinois and its neighboring states, the sex ratio at birth of Asian children was not male-biased during our study period. On the other hand, the sex ratio at birth among Asians in Pennsylvania and its neighboring states was skewed slightly in favor of boys, but the enactment of the ban did not normalize the sex ratio. This strongly suggests that sex-selective abortion bans have had no impact on the practice of sex selection, to the extent that it occurs, in these states. This finding is highly relevant to legislative and policy debates in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures where sex-selective abortion laws are being considered.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document