Taiwan Crackdown on Sex-Selection Abortions Works

February 13, 2012

A crackdown on sex-selection abortions in Taiwan saved about 1,000 female unborn babies from death last year, Baptist Press reports. After the country's health officials instituted stronger checks on sex-selection abortions -- even though the practice has never been legal -- government statistics showed 108 male babies born for every 100 females in 2011, "the same as 993 [female] babies saved," said Lee Tsui-feng of the Bureau of Health Promotion. The worldwide ratio is typically 104 to 106 males to 100 females. Sex-selection abortion has become common in Taiwan because of a historical and cultural desire for male children, but "the strict measures have paid off," Tsui-feng said.