A series of articles in this week’s The Economist (March 6^th – 12^th 2010) highlights the growing epidemic of ‘gendercide’ which has accounted for the global disappearance of over 100 million baby girls through infanticide, abortion or neglect.

Phenomena such as the one-child policy adopted in China and surreptitious sex-selective abortion in India and the Middle East are largely responsible for the skewed sex ratios now presenting themselves in these countries.

The ProLife Alliance has long been aware of the abuses occurring in some of these countries in relation to female babies. We particularly note an observation made in The Economist about the unprecedented rate of suicide in Chinese rural woman aged 15-34, the commonest form of death amongst this demographic. Journalist Xinran Xue attributes this anomaly to the psychological impact that abortion and infanticide are having on these women, unable to cope with the trauma of killing their daughters. This analysis is borne out by a significant body of research, which exposes the devastating psychological effects which abortion can inflict.

A spokesperson for the ProLife Alliance said:

“We are grateful to The Economist for highlighting the massive problems facing many Asian countries due to abortion. As well as destroying the lives of over 100 million baby girls, the psychological trauma of abortion is also destroying the lives of their mothers. In addition the wider societal impact of condemning a large body of young men to a future without a wife and without a family is only beginning to be understood.  How groups purporting to uphold women’s rights can continue to promote abortion in the face of such evidence is beyond belief. The only viable solution to these nightmare problems is a blanket ban on abortion.”

NOTE TO EDITORS

The article can be found online here:

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15636231