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Redstate...
Sex Selection
Abortion in America
Posted by Breeanne Howe
Tuesday, May 29th
In the wake of Chen Guangcheng arriving safely in the United States,
after years of persecution in China for his anti-abortion activism, The
House of Representatives will vote tomorrow on H.R. 3541 (also known as
the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act – PRENDA), a bill to ban
sex-selection abortions in the United States. Although the US has
strongly condemned China for their sex-selection abortion practices,
only four states (AZ, OK, PA and IL) currently have laws banning the
procedure. Sex-selection abortions have long been an issue around
the globe, most notably in China and India, and studies show they are
rampant in the US. A series of videos, the first of which was
released by Live Action this morning, exposes the role Planned
Parenthood plays in America’s sex-selection abortion problem.
The first video, shows a woman visiting a Planned Parenthood facility
in South Austin, Texas. The woman, undercover for Live Action,
spoke at length with a Planned Parenthood employee about how to proceed
with an abortion should she find out that she is pregnant with a
girl. The employee’s instructions included how to use local
OB/GYNs to find out the sex of the baby and how to defraud Medicaid to
pay for all the costs associated. She also advised the woman that
many “regular” doctors would not provide an ultrasound should she
indicate her desire to abort, as sex determination is usually made 5
months into the pregnancy and pretty much everything (including the
brain) is already developed.
During Live Action’s investigation, Planned Parenthood became
suspicious that their involvement in gendercide might be exposed.
Two representatives of the organization wrote at RH Reality Check last
month about Planned Parenthood’s official stance on sex-selection
abortion.
Gender bias is contrary to everything our organization works for daily
in communities across the country. Planned Parenthood opposes
racism and sexism in all forms, and we work to advance equity and human
rights in the delivery of health care. Planned Parenthood condemns sex
selection motivated by gender bias, and urges leaders to challenge the
underlying conditions that lead to these beliefs and practices,
including addressing the social, legal, economic, and political
conditions that promote gender bias and lead some to value one gender
over the other.
The Huffington Post also came to the defense of Planned Parenthood,
claiming that Live Action heavily edits their videos in their efforts
to misinform the public. Yet, Live Action has also posted the original,
unedited video that shows no conflict between it and the final video.
Further, when Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) first introduced PRENDA, Planned
Parenthood was quick to come out in strong opposition of the
bill. While PRENDA only bans abortions used to discriminate based
on the unborn baby’s gender or race, and it exempts the would-be mother
from prosecution, Planned Parenthood claims the bill will “further
isolate and stigmatize some women — particularly those in the Asian
American and Pacific Islander and African American communities.”
In fact, a study of the 2000 US Census showed that, unless there was
already a boy in the family, the number of boys born outnumbered girls
by 50%. The majority of sex-selection abortions in the US appear,
according to the study, to be by Chinese, Korean and Asian-Indian
women, in keeping with cultural heritages that traditionally favor
boys. In a 2011 study, 89% of Asian-Indian participants chose
abortion when they found out they were carrying baby girls. Many
admitted to being victims of physical violence and starvation by their
families in efforts to coerce the women into abortion. Planned
Parenthood’s willingness to provide sex-selection abortions only helps
to further victimize these women.
A recent poll by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of
the Susan B. Anthony List, showed that 77% of Americans (and 80%
of women) would support a ban on sex-selection abortions in the
U.S. The passage of PRENDA will be in line with the views of the
majority of Americans and, with the help of video evidence by Live
Action, the abortion extremists at Planned Parenthood won’t force their
opinions on the country.
Read this and other articles at Redstate
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