Baby Making

For many people it is unimaginable to abort one's unborn child, more so if it is based solely on gender and not for any valid reason such as health considerations. But in India, this is an everyday occurrence.

About 2,000 fetuses are aborted everyday-all of them girls. Why is this so? India has a patriarchal society that is why men are given more preference. Girls and women are claiming that they are treated like second-class citizens. A baby boy opens new doors for parents while girls are burden to theirs.

This phenomenon is probably the result of India's cultural heritage. According to the Indian tradition, a son will carry the family name, he will become the provider, and he will look after ageing parents and makes sure that the last rites will be performed when you die. Indian girls, on the other hand, are completely opposite. Indian society dictates women to pay a dowry when she is about to get married. The parents of the girl will have to produce this. This practice is now banned but still persists across the nation. Apart from that, parents are bothered by the thought that they'll be giving away their daughters after feeding, clothing and educating them. Girls in the family, upon marriage, will have to leave and serve the husband's family. So this is what parents are lamenting about.

Due to widespread abortion and baby switching pregnant mothers now opt to give birth in less than safe surroundings. Women prefer to deliver their babies in their homes to prevent baby switching. In many hospitals, it has been a practice to switch baby girls with baby boys born in the same hospital. Parents would like to make sure that this would not happen to their child so they would rather risk their child's health for a time than to forever lose them.

For parents who would like their baby girls aborted, they would go the extra mile of paying expensive hospitals just to know the baby's gender. If it comes out to be a girl, they are readily aborted. With numerous abortions, human waste disposal becomes a problem. Many doctors resort to throwing these aborted female fetuses in their septic tanks.

This rampant abortion leads to the government enacting laws prohibiting pregnant women from requesting a radiographic test identifying an unborn child's gender. Ultrasounds are prohibited from being performed on pregnant women but still many can get around this law. Even reputable hospitals accept payment for gender identification. This goes to show that the extent of baby girl avoidance is at its peak.