It is interesting that the issue of abortion for sex selection in Canada is raised again in CMAJ in a commentary1 and research study2 in June 2016.
Attempts to arrive at solutions for this problem were suggested variously in the form of laws, education and further research. Do we not as a society and a medical community preach that reproductive health is between a doctor and the patient? Do we not offer abortion selective for Down syndrome (and for other nonlethal anomalies)? Have we not said that other cultures and their values are welcome in Canada and that none is superior to another in our multicultural society? On what basis do we think that abortion for sex selection (as opposed to any other elective abortive procedure) is inappropriate? We have even gone to great lengths to make sure that emergency contraceptive pills are freely available without a prescription. All of this is under the umbrella of “choice.”
An immigrant population is exercising its “choice.” Is not the solution a rethinking of the issue of a society eliminating its offspring, perhaps for convenience? Abortion for sex selection is a natural progeny of the philosophy of “choice,” and it appears inconsistent to question another person’s right to “choice” in one room and promote it in another.