Illegal abortions in the UK

[Coito ergo sum]

(And re your in vitro remark-- Eugenics are off-putting. For all sorts of reasons. )

(But thank god I had a nice blond boy!) (KIDDING!)

Oh, I don't know. Eugenics has the Nazi connotation now, but if you could manipulate a gene and have a child born with 180 IQ, instead of 110, wouldn't you do it? If the child could be genetically set to not have any genetic malfunctions, wouldn't you do it?

Fuck yeah, I would.

But, then again, I don't know why anyone would want to make sex-based choices anyway - so, I need to come to grips with that whole thing. For me, boy or girl, both are awesome. I don't even have a preference. Although, if SWMBO'd's relationship with her mother is any indicator of what is in our future....I need to do some thinkin'... lol

[HomerJay]

Nope, abortions among Indians are to follow the same rules as among other groups.
It's funny how they are the main group that actively tries for gender selection by using this method.

So, then if anyone isn't getting an abortion for the right reason, they can't get one, even in the first trimester?

I think this is ridiculous (not you, Coito.) Either you have the right to get the abortion or not. Aborting a fetus of the "wrong" gender might be something I'd personally find reprehensible-- but that's aside from the point, policy-wise.

Besides, if you make that illegal, what about people who have sex-linked genetic disorders that run in their family? Shouldn't they have the right to choose not to have a child who, based on sex, has a much higher chance of having all sorts of health problems, or a life full of suffering?

And you can't effectively outlaw one without also outlawing the other.

Besides, as I understand it, there's a way to choose the sex of offpring via in-vitro fertilizing (that's mostly, but not 100 percent accurate)-- there's a sorting process where a centrifuge is used to separate male-- I have to look this up, if it's male-carrying sperm, or a male embryo, I'm not sure-- but basically the idea is that the Y-chromosome is smaller and lighter, so a centrifuge can separate male from female, and implant the desired variety.

We (UK) do currently outlaw one but not the other, because there is no automatic right to choose. You could see it in terms of how the religious groups have held back the right to choose, in that it is limited to only 'worthy' reason and not 'bad' reasons.

The issue is that there is a big spike in Indian (not Pakistani, apparently) couples having boy babies later on in the family, especially by the third child when the balance is thrown out. (ie they don't mind having 2 girls but by the third they decide it MUST be a boy).

It is serious enough that there is a suggestion of stopping sexing all babies just to stop the practice.

So you could maintain the right to choose but stop sexing (CES already pointed out you just go abroad and have the test there).

[Seabass]

...That doesnt of course stop me thinking some parts of Asian/Muslim culture is utterly shit but while they obey the law its not really any of my business

I just can't take that point of view. Culture matters. Allowing rotten cultural values (from whatever source) to fester in our midst unchallenged will always come back to bite us on the arse.

That simple fact makes this things our business.

This sounds a bit Santorum-esque...

[MrJonno]

Oh, I don't know. Eugenics has the Nazi connotation now, but if you could manipulate a gene and have a child born with 180 IQ, instead of 110, wouldn't you do it? If the child could be genetically set to not have any genetic malfunctions, wouldn't you do it?

Fuck yeah, I would.

I sure you would want to and I can guarantee the state would have to at least try and stop you. I world with eveyrone having an IQ of 180 would be a very bad one, no jobs lots of bored slowly going insane geniuses

[Coito ergo sum]

Oh, I don't know. Eugenics has the Nazi connotation now, but if you could manipulate a gene and have a child born with 180 IQ, instead of 110, wouldn't you do it? If the child could be genetically set to not have any genetic malfunctions, wouldn't you do it?

Fuck yeah, I would.

I sure you would want to and I can guarantee the state would have to at least try and stop you. I world with eveyrone having an IQ of 180 would be a very bad one, no jobs lots of bored slowly going insane geniuses

Nah - a new equilibrium would arise. There is nothing magic about the range of IQ's we have now. It's just what wound up working to keep the species surviving to breed. Smarter people might help advance society and solve technological problems.

[MrJonno]

IQ is strongly linked to mental illness, people who think too much make win Nobel Prizes but they also tend to suffer from serious illnesses

[Coito ergo sum]

I think low IQ has been linked to mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression and anxiety, so we'd be curing mental disease in the process.

[hadespussercats]

I think low IQ has been linked to mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression and anxiety, so we'd be curing mental disease in the process.

I'd always heard the opposite-- but I think the supposed link is apocryphal anyway.

Unless you're talking creative genius, that is-- but this is derail-tastic.

[Tyrannical]

There is no need for abortion to be legal in any Western nation because the replacement birthrate is already too low.

[MrJonno]

There is no need for abortion to be legal in any Western nation because the replacement birthrate is already too low.

Population is still going up in the UK, we not only need more abortions but a breeding license as well

[Svartalf]

You know that the british don't reproduce, your pop goes up because of immigration, and because the third worlder still behave like rabbits.

[HomerJay]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7570192.stm

The number of female foetuses being aborted in India is rising, as ultrasound is increasingly used to predict the sex of babies.

What would you do if your husband's family did not want you to have daughters - and insisted you took steps to make sure it did not happen?

Would you walk out or would you stay on and take a chance?

What if the bias against girls is reflected across society? Would that mean you could not make it on your own?

Vaijanti is an Indian woman who says she faces this dilemma.

[Tyrannical]

(And re your in vitro remark-- Eugenics are off-putting. For all sorts of reasons. )

(But thank god I had a nice blond boy!) (KIDDING!)

Oh, I don't know. Eugenics has the Nazi connotation now, but if you could manipulate a gene and have a child born with 180 IQ, instead of 110, wouldn't you do it? If the child could be genetically set to not have any genetic malfunctions, wouldn't you do it?

Fuck yeah, I would.

But, then again, I don't know why anyone would want to make sex-based choices anyway - so, I need to come to grips with that whole thing. For me, boy or girl, both are awesome. I don't even have a preference. Although, if SWMBO'd's relationship with her mother is any indicator of what is in our future....I need to do some thinkin'... lol

Eugenics was doing just fine until the Nazis came around and ruined it.
For example, we are now forced to consider Blacks as a race our equal even though every mental test tells us otherwise.

[HomerJay]

Eugenics was doing just fine until the Nazis came around and ruined it.
For example, we are now forced to consider Blacks as a race our equal even though every mental test tells us otherwise.

Those tests do sound mental.

[MrJonno]

Eugenics was doing just fine until the Nazis came around and ruined it.
For example, we are now forced to consider Blacks as a race our equal even though every mental test tells us otherwise.

Those tests do sound mental.

I believe in the 1920-30's there were asking immigrants from that well known tennis sporting nation Poland what the dimensions of the court were and when they failed to answer didnt let them into the country on the basis they were too thick