Traditional preference costs Taiwan the joy of daughters

In Taiwan, the sex preference has muted to a whisper; it is still something many want, but few would blatantly admit to. Looking at families with a line of daughters before halting at a youngest son is an obvious indicator. However, sometimes the boy-favoring mentality is not so obvious. In a low-fertility society like Taiwan, where many do not believe they have the luxury of bearing one child, let alone many, leaving things up to nature becomes less of an option and more of a risk. In this case, “birth control” takes on a whole new meaning.

Last week, the Control Yuan (監察院) revealed a highly disproportionate sex ratio at birth, with baby boys far outnumbering girls in an alarming finding that translates into roughly 3,000 female infants “disappearing” each year. Control Yuan member Kao Fehng-shian (高鳳仙) pointed out that under natural circumstances, Taiwan's sex ratio at birth (SRB) should land between 1.04 and 1.06 males to every female. Between 2004 and 2010, however, the national average SRB was between 1.085 and 1.108, making Taiwan the nation with the second highest infant sex ratio imbalance.

The “disappearance” of “baby girls” may be terminologically problematic, as some do not view aborted fetuses as babies, let alone daughters. Furthermore, there is no qualitative data to back up the numbers, only assumptions, as neither the Department of Health's (DOH) Bureau of National Health Promotion (BHP, 國民健康局) nor the Food and Drug Administration (FDA, 藥管局) have been properly monitoring abortions or nonsurgical abortion pills to mitigate the issue.

The lack of control and data management resulted in “corrections” handed down by the nation's watchdog to the two government entities. One is forced to wonder: is monitoring the intake of the RU486 abortion pill — which the Control Yuan suspects mothers are using to terminate their pregnancies only after knowing their baby's sex — really going to help a traditional mentality? How easy would it be for those who know they are being watched to side-step that by claiming other motives for using the pill? Is government really going to interfere with family planning, when it has trouble getting its people to procreate in the first place? After all, there are many circumstances and factors that prompt a woman to go through with an abortion, which, given a “pro-choice” perspective, is ultimately decided by the woman. So what happens when, instead of being unready to be a mother, she simply decides she is not willing to be the mother of anyone other than a son?

1|2|Next Page>>

PrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email