Abortion Debate Forum - Cosmetic Abortions ... an Ugly Science

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Q: Cosmetic Abortions ... an Ugly Science

asked by: trina1 on May 21st, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

In England, it now seems, a baby can be aborted for not being pretty enough. Maybe this was inevitable as genetic screening and techniques such as ultrasound advanced.
The London Daily Telegraph Web site reports that the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has licensed a fertility clinic to screen embryos for a genetic defect that causes a severe squint.
A squint? The aborting of babies with undesired characteristics is hardly new. In China, where people have a strong preference for boys, so many female babies have been aborted that a serious imbalance between the sexes exists. Babies with fatal conditions have been aborted. We now seem to have invented cosmetic abortion.
The man to whom the license was granted, professor Gedis Grudzinskas, was asked whether he would screen babies for hair color. He replied that hair color "can be a cause of bullying, which can lead to suicide. With the agreement of the HFEA, I would do it."

complete story
http://washingtontimes.com/technology/2007 ...00822-2536r.htm

Replies(9)

trina1

replied on May 21st, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

Re: Cosmetic Abortions...an Ugly Science

trina1 wrote:

In China, where people have a strong preference for boys, so many female babies have been aborted that a serious imbalance between the sexes exists.

Now if "that" is not anti-woman....I don't know what is. Rolling Eyes

Jules

replied on May 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Link doesn't work, .Trina Confused

trina1

replied on May 22nd, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

Try typing it in without any capitals.

Jules

replied on May 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Yeah i did that but no luck. Must be my pooter then if it works for everyone else Rolling Eyes

Anne123

replied on May 22nd, 2007

Experienced User

Found it:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/technology/ 20070518-100822-2536r.htm

trina1

replied on May 22nd, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

Anne123 wrote:

Found it:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/technology/ 20070518-100822-2536r.htm

Thank you. Smile

Jules

replied on May 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Good god that's just awful...but to be expected. If it's possible to do then humans will do it, to hell with the consequences.

jenn_smithson

replied on May 28th, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

PurestGreen wrote:

Good god that's just awful...but to be expected. If it's possible to do then humans will do it, to hell with the consequences.

As to the article, a "squint" is also known as strabismus, otherwise known as cross-eyed, wall-eyed, or lazy-eyed. This, like other diseases, can be mild or severe. Treatment options vary from a simple eyepatch to major reconstructive surgery and in some cases cannot be reversed.

I know that it makes people uneasy to think about testing and aborting for defects but you need to put it into the proper context. The same right that gives a woman the ability to obtain an abortion for severe defects is the same right that gives another woman the ability to obtain an abortion for mild, or easily corrected, defects. You cannot begin setting limits for one or specifying how severe a defect must be before she is allowed to exercise her rights without putting the right itself in jeopardy.

Basically, if you start deciding for women who can and cannot obtain an abortion, then eventually the women who need an abortion won't be able to access them.

Tylanas

replied on May 28th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

Re: Cosmetic Abortions...an Ugly Science

trina1 wrote:

In China, where people have a strong preference for boys, so many female babies have been aborted that a serious imbalance between the sexes exists.

Now if "that" is not anti-woman....I don't know what is. Rolling Eyes

I agree. Women in the countryside are sometimes dragged off and forced to have an abortion even if they are near birth.

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