When it comes to abortion, I thought “pro-choice” meant giving women the freedom to choose to terminate a pregnancy for reasons that make sense to them.

Not always, apparently. It turns out that some of the staunchest pro-choice advocates in New Jersey are shocked when adults overseas practice abortion for reasons that make sense there – but which offend the sensibilities of the domestic pro-choice crowd.

Specifically, many in Asia are choosing abortion when a fetus is female, because they want sons rather than daughters.

For pro-choice voices here, it’s not the practice of abortion they object to. It’s just the sexism of those overseas that they mind so much….

But why, if it is wrong to choose to abort a fetus overseas simply because the fetus is female – why is it not also wrong to abort a fetus here for some other – just as arbitrary – reason?

Pro-choice politicians and editorial writers here like to pretend that most abortions are done for “serious” reasons – rape, incest, or the mother is only 12 years old….

Here are some statistics, from… Guttmacher

“The reasons most frequently cited (for having an abortion) were that having a child would interfere with a woman’s education, work or ability to care for dependents (74%); that she could not afford a baby now (73%); and that she did not want to be a single mother or was having relationship problems (48%),”…

These are all, in the broadest sense, reasons of convenience….

Morally, these “domestic” reasons for abortion are not much different than deciding to terminate a pregnancy because you’re hoping for a son instead of a daughter.

~ George Berkin, NJ.com, August 18

[Photo via unmultimedia.org]

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