It’s a Girl – Addressing Gendercide

 This guest blog post is from Lauren Moustakas, Regent Law 3L:

Recently, I had the opportunity to view a screening of the documentary “It’s a Girl, the Three Deadliest Words in the World.” This film informs viewers of the reality of gendercide across our world, especially in countries such as India and China. In India alone, it is estimated that one million sex selective abortions occur annually. This estimate does not include the widespread practice of infanticide based on gender, where girls are killed or left to die after they are delivered. At the time the film was created it was estimated by the United Nations that as many as 200 million girls are missing in the world today because of gendercide. The documentary reiterated the gravity of this statistic by pointing out that this estimated number of victims to gendercide exceeds the number of people killed in all the genocides of the 20th century combined and the number of deaths that occurred in both WWI and WWII.

While the existence of gendercide and the devaluing of girls in nations such as India and China may not be surprising to some, the truth of the matter is that in the United States we have done little to prevent acts of gendercide from occurring here. Few states have made it illegal to seek an abortion based on the gender of the child. Additionally, newer Assisted Reproductive Technology’s (ART) such as Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) allows for sex-selection before an embryo is transferred into the future mother’s womb. This area of technology not only is minimally regulated but also is advertised in States such as California as a way for parents to select the sex of their child. California’s embrace of ART as a tool for sex-selection has also attracted families from other parts of the world where sex selection is now illegal – making California and the United States - complicit in acts that contribute to gendercide.  In fact, 40% of customers come from outside the United States to pursue surrogacy in California because gender selection is legal.

Families and advocates for women and girls around the world should be alarmed over our nation’s contribution to acts of gendercide and work to enact policies that will protect the most vulnerable.

To learn more download these resources:

The Challenges of Teaching Gender Equality in a World of Gendercide, 6 Regent J. L. & Pub. Pol’y 1 (2014).

A Christian Perspective on Gender Equality, 15 Duke J. Gender L. & Pol’y 339 (2008).

Sex Selection Abortion and the Boomerang Effect of a Woman’s Right to Choose: A Paradox of the Skeptics, 4 Wm & Mary J. Women & L. 91 (1997).