Toronto Sun: A new study of Ontario births shows women born in India are more likely to have a boy as their third child, lending credibility to the theory that sex-selection abortion is common among immigrant communities. The Canadian Medical Association study found that the third-child births of Indian-born women were at a ratio of 136 boys to 100 girls, compared to 105 boys to 100 girls for Canadian-born women, which is close to the worldwide average.
The theory is that in cultures in which boys are preferred, parents who already have girls will abort subsequent female babies until they can conceive a son. The authors point to previous research that shows a sharp increase in the male-to-female ratio among second children in India when the first is a girl, but no similar spike for girls when the first born is a boy.
The study comes on the heels of a controversial Canadian Medical Association Journal editorial calling on doctors to hide a fetus' sex from parents for the first 30 weeks of pregnancy, after which abortion becomes very difficult to access in Canada. "Canada has a unique opportunity to address this problem. It's a major form of discrimination against women. If Canada cannot do something to address this problem, what hope do India and China have?" said Dr. Rajendra Kale.
The suggestion sparked a vocal backlash from abortion rights activists and gynaecologists. "People have the right to knowledge and they should be treated like responsible adults, and can decide for themselves what to do with information like that," Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada said at the time. "We're pro-choice not because we love abortion, but because women have the right to decide what's best for their own lives for their own reasons, and we don't have to agree with those reasons." She acknowledged that "nobody likes sex-selective abortion," but said that's not a good enough reason to ban it, instead suggesting education and outreach.
Showing posts with label Family life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family life. Show all posts
The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage
The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage - NYTimes.com: Couples who cohabit before marriage (and especially before an engagement or an otherwise clear commitment) tend to be less satisfied with their marriages — and more likely to divorce — than couples who do not. These negative outcomes are called the cohabitation effect.
. . . [R]esearchers call [it] “sliding, not deciding.” Moving from dating to sleeping over to sleeping over a lot to cohabitation can be a gradual slope, one not marked by rings or ceremonies or sometimes even a conversation. Couples bypass talking about why they want to live together and what it will mean.
. . . Women are more likely to view cohabitation as a step toward marriage, while men are more likely to see it as a way to test a relationship or postpone commitment, and this gender asymmetry is associated with negative interactions and lower levels of commitment even after the relationship progresses to marriage. One thing men and women do agree on, however, is that their standards for a live-in partner are lower than they are for a spouse.
Founding relationships on convenience or ambiguity can interfere with the process of claiming the people we love. A life built on top of “maybe you’ll do” simply may not feel as dedicated as a life built on top of the “we do” of commitment or marriage.
. . . [R]esearchers call [it] “sliding, not deciding.” Moving from dating to sleeping over to sleeping over a lot to cohabitation can be a gradual slope, one not marked by rings or ceremonies or sometimes even a conversation. Couples bypass talking about why they want to live together and what it will mean.
. . . Women are more likely to view cohabitation as a step toward marriage, while men are more likely to see it as a way to test a relationship or postpone commitment, and this gender asymmetry is associated with negative interactions and lower levels of commitment even after the relationship progresses to marriage. One thing men and women do agree on, however, is that their standards for a live-in partner are lower than they are for a spouse.
Founding relationships on convenience or ambiguity can interfere with the process of claiming the people we love. A life built on top of “maybe you’ll do” simply may not feel as dedicated as a life built on top of the “we do” of commitment or marriage.
. . . [T]he most recent research suggests that serial cohabitators, couples with differing levels of commitment and those who use cohabitation as a test are most at risk for poor relationship quality and eventual relationship dissolution. . . . [F]ar from safeguarding against divorce and unhappiness, moving in with someone can increase your chances of making a mistake — or of spending too much time on a mistake.
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Raising Kids on a Shoestring: Children with Special Needs
The Internet has become an essential resource. Others have gone before you in creating resources and sharing experiences. Feminists for Life
Abortion survivor contemplates baby #2
You would never know it by looking at me today, but at the time that I survived that failed abortion, I was barely clinging to life. I suffered from severe respiratory problems, jaundice, and seizures. As the result of hemorrhaging, (a consequence of what the toxic salt solution was doing to me), I required multiple blood transfusions. I was too weak to suck from a bottle, and so I was fed intravenously through my head. The prognosis for my life was guarded at best. The doctors didn’t believe that I would live for very long, and if I did live, I would suffer from any one or a number of disabilities. But I was alive! And God had other plans…
[O]ur daughter, Olivia, and our rapidly developing child tucked safely away in my womb are living testament to the fact that abortion is about so much more than just a woman and a child. It’s about everyone. We are all impacted by abortion—those already born, and those yet to be conceived. Melissa Ohden
[O]ur daughter, Olivia, and our rapidly developing child tucked safely away in my womb are living testament to the fact that abortion is about so much more than just a woman and a child. It’s about everyone. We are all impacted by abortion—those already born, and those yet to be conceived. Melissa Ohden
IVF, Mass Production, and Coercion
IVF, Mass Production and Coercion | After Abortion: "My reflection on this problem was prompted by a call I received last year from a woman who was experiencing severe post-abortion reactions following an multi-fetal pregnancy reduction procedure. Prior to undergoing an in vitro fertilization procedure, she had told the doctor she would not agree to abortion under any circumstance and he had expressed respect for her beliefs. Despite this, he implanted several embryos with the expectation that most would not 'take.' When several of the implanted embryos did implant, he quickly began to pressure her to abort the 'extras' to avoid losing them all. Eventually the mother, who desperately wanted children and abhorred abortion, did as her doctor ordered."
Related: Targeting excess children
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Related: Targeting excess children
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Reducing Twins to Singles -- A Woman's Choice?
Page 2: Reducing Twins to Singles -- A Woman's Choice? - ABC News: After her own experience with unexpected multiples, Dr. Ross's concern lies not in the moral questionability of twin reductions, but in the psychological welfare of the couples. Though she did not opt to reduce her triplets, she says she has seen the psychological toll that reduction can take on parents.
'At the time you make the decision to reduce, parents don't know what the future will hold. Some of the families go on to experience a lot of grief. At every milestone for the child they decided to keep, there is this ghost in the room, this feeling that there should have been two of them,' she says. . . . 'We need to educate couples so that they know that if they are only willing to have one baby, they should only be transferring one embryo at a time.'
'At the time you make the decision to reduce, parents don't know what the future will hold. Some of the families go on to experience a lot of grief. At every milestone for the child they decided to keep, there is this ghost in the room, this feeling that there should have been two of them,' she says. . . . 'We need to educate couples so that they know that if they are only willing to have one baby, they should only be transferring one embryo at a time.'
Related:
The 2-minus-1 pregnancy
The 2-minus-1 pregnancy
Gender Test Works, Could Lead to Sex-Selection Abortions
The Intelligender test kit, one of a handful of different kinds, has prompted concerns over the last few years that it could lead to an increase in the use of sex-selection abortions. Australian pharmacies began selling the kit years ago and it eventually made its way to New Zealand — claiming to be able to detect the gender of an unborn child when used. The test kit makers claim the test offers a 90 percent accuracy rate in determining the sex of the baby after eight weeks into the pregnancy. Also sold in the United States since 2006, the test takes 10 minutes and supposedly identifies a “confidential element” found in the hormones of a pregnant woman when she is carrying a girl. When a pregnant woman’s urine is mixed with the chemicals in the kit, it supposedly turns green or black to indicate a boy and orange or yellow to indicate a girl.
'I know it's a girl, and I need your help to get it out of me.'
Dr. Carpenter's brow furrowed as she told me about the first time she met Priya. Carpenter was an OB-GYN resident at the time. Priya was a recent immigrant from India who worked as a manager in a retail store and had come to the central California clinic on her lunch break. Punctuating her story with glances at her watch, she told Carpenter how, one week earlier, she had used another lunch break to go to a private ultrasound clinic, where she learned that she was pregnant with a girl. With her arms tightly crossed along her abdomen, she explained that her husband and his parents expected a boy, and that Carpenter's help could change her life. "I have a daughter," Priya said. "I don't need another one."
. . . Reproductive choice and patient autonomy are pillars of American medical practice, after all. Asking a woman for her reasons for wanting a boy or a girl, one doctor told me, is simply not a physician's responsibility or business; educating her on the latest technology is. Doctors have to trust that patients know their lives, families, and needs best, he said. In some cases, a physician may know—and loathe—the reasons behind a patient's choice, yet still believe that providing sex selection may help her. If a woman faces threats of divorce, abandonment, or abuse, or if her child would ultimately be mistreated or neglected, then aborting an unwanted female or implanting male embryos may help keep that woman—and any future children—safe.
. . . Ultimately, physicians are on their own when making these ethically and emotionally charged decisions. The professional medical societies they might otherwise turn to offer conflicting advice: The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends that providers not meet requests for sex selection, given the risk of reinforcing sexist beliefs and practices, while the American Society of Reproductive Medicine states that it would be premature to prohibit such technologies without studies suggesting their potential harm in the United States. Slate
Get to Know: Cross Examine
At the Cross Examine Insider, you can view videos on the Business of Abortion, the lies of the sex industry, forgiveness, biblical worldview, drug addiction, family life, and more. Registration required.
Family planning in China
Li's Story from All Girls Allowed on Vimeo.
Li's is the story of a mother's extraordinary love for her daughter. Though she went through numerous struggles and hardships, with AGA's help she is able to raise her daughter with no regrets.
Building Family Connections Curriculum Training
Check out what's in store for you at the Building Family Connections training. This is a conference that MASH (Michigan Association for Sexual Health) is hosting for the Medical Institute. The conference is a 2 1/2 day training that will be held in Novi, MI on Nov. 18-20. The cost is only $100 and includes all the training materials as well as breakfast and lunch. Registration has been extended from Nov. 1 to Nov. 8, 2010.
Half of Russians oppose abortion ban
According to 54% of Russians, an ideal family should have two children. Also, the number of abortion ban opponents in Russia has reduced to 48% from 57% in 2007. A quarter of Russians believe that overall abortions should be banned and allowed only by medical referrals (20% in 2007). At the same time, another 16% want a total ban on abortions (15%). Kyiv Post
Gov't releases abstinence report
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has now released the full results of a government study that will give behavioral scientists insight into how parental attitudes and social norms are key to promoting abstinence before marriage, rather than sex ed programs. Until now, HHS had been criticized for its delayed release of the full results of the study, as only an executive summary of the study’s final conclusions were available. LifeSiteNews
The 196-page report entitled National Survey of Adolescents and Their Parents: Attitudes and Opinions About Sex and Abstinence had several findings that appeared to controvert conventional wisdom on teen attitudes and sex education. For example, the report found that “adolescents and parents generally oppose pre-marital sex,” adding that adolescents have slightly more permissive views than their parents. Approximately 70 percent of parents were morally opposed to their teens having premarital sex, while just over 60 percent of teens agreed that only married persons should have sex. Parental and social attitudes toward sex and abstinence were far more influential than classroom education, even when abstinence-based. HHS report
Obama Administration Blocks Release of Pivotal HHS Abstinence Study
Obama Administration Blocks Release of Pivotal HHS Abstinence Study | CitizenLink: The Administration for Children and Families, a division of HHS, funded a survey of 1,000 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 and their parents, in order to measure parent-adolescent communication and adolescent attitudes toward sex and abstinence. During an APHA conference, researcher Lisa Rue, Ph.D., who specializes in adolescent behavior, was intrigued by the study and requested the full report. She was summarily denied access.
It Costs $222,360 To Raise A Child
Yes, it's a number that screams false precision. Nevertheless, a new government estimate says a middle-income, two-parent family will spend $222,360, on average, to raise a baby born in 2009. NPR
Women having abortions after fertility treatment
Data released under the Freedom of Information Act has shown that an average of 80 abortions are carried out in England and Wales a year on women who have undergone IVF treatment. Doctors have said they are surprised at the figures considering the expense and difficulty that many couples go through when having fertility treatment. Some women said they were pressured into IVF by their partners and others said they aborted their pregnancy after their relationship broke down. Telegraph
Prenatal and Postpartum Depression in Fathers and Its Association With Maternal Depression
It is well established that maternal prenatal and postpartum depression is prevalent and has negative personal, family, and child developmental outcomes. Paternal depression during this period may have similar characteristics, but data are based on an emerging and currently inconsistent literature. Prenatal and postpartum depression was evident in about 10% of men in the reviewed studies and was relatively higher in the 3- to 6-month postpartum period. Paternal depression also showed a moderate positive correlation with maternal depression. JAMA
Raquel Welch speaks up for fidelity
Raquel Welch warns the Pill has led teens to believe there are no consequences to sex and blames the Pill for decline of marriage. She cautioned against plummeting moral standards and, as a four-time married actress, is well aware of the irony of her comments. Still, "if an aging sex symbol like me starts waving the red flag of caution over how low moral standards have plummeted, you know it’s gotta be pretty bad.” Christian Institute
Girls: 'we want parents to protect us from sex'
Many teenage girls are being forced by their boyfriends to engage in sexual acts taken from pornographic films which can be easily accessed through the internet and mobile phones. “I wish my parents would say I’m not allowed to be home alone with a boy,” said one 16-year-old girl. “I wish they’d say boys aren’t allowed in my bedroom. They make this big deal about ‘trusting us’, but that’s not helping me. They have no idea what goes on, and I’m too embarrassed to tell them.” The teenagers explained the notion of a ‘third wheel,’ the modern equivalent of a chaperone, a friend who girls take with them to keep them safe from sexual advances. Christian Institute
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