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ARMENIAN POLITICIANS MOOT SEX-SELECTION BAN
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #741
June 20 2014
Authorities decide to copy other countries' success in legislating
against option for aborting female foetuses By Arpi Harutyunyan -
Caucasus
Parliamentarians in Armenia are discussing a ban on doctors revealing
the sex of a foetus before the 30th week of pregnancy, which they
hope will reduce selective abortions. They recognise, however, that
legislation could open up a new avenue for doctors to take bribes
from parents who want sons, not daughters.
"The bill hasn't been circulated yet. We will discuss its problems
with members of parliament, and then send it to the government," Ara
Babloyan, chairman of parliament's health committee, said on May 20.
The proposed law is based on a study on births in Armenia in 2012-13
which the health ministry conducted with help from the United Nations,
and which concluded that every year 1,400 fewer girls are born than
should naturally be the case.
"In Armenia, abortion and selective birth of children by gender
is becoming very worrying. We are destroying the country's future
mothers," said Garik Hayrapetyan, head of the United Nations Population
Fund office in Armenia.
He said that if nothing was done, Armenia would lose over 90,000
female babies by 2060.
The birth ratio in Armenia in 2012 was 114 boys for every 100 girls.
The natural ratio is between 102 and 106 boys to every 100 girls. The
most distorted figure was in Gegharkunik region, where the ratio was
124 to 100.
"The fact that families prefer to have boys is a chronic problem
that cannot be resolved immediately. We need to do long-term work
on it," Gayane Avagyan, head of the health ministry's maternity and
reproductive health department, told IWPR. "Another factor is the
country's birth rate. People used to have four to five children,
which ensured a gender balance, but now they have two. Third and no
less important, modern technology allows people to discover the sex
of the child even very early on in pregnancy."
According to a opinion poll conducted alongside study, couples are six
times more likely to want a boy than a girl, and selective abortion
becomes more common in a third or fourth pregnancy, when couples are
desperate to have a son.
"We have a patriarchal society, and people prefer boys to girls on
the grounds that boys continue the family line," Hayrapetyan said,
citing the responses given in the survey.
Avagyan said the health ministry had discussed the issue many times
with women's groups, psychologists, the United Nations and other
organisations, and it had looked at the experiences of other countries
in combating sex-selective abortions. She said officials had concluded
that the best place to start was by passing a law similar to ones
that had worked in other countries.
The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe passed a
resolution on the issue in 2011, singling out Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Georgia and Albania as countries with particularly worrying records in
sex-selective abortions. (See also South Caucasus: Selective Abortion
Means Fewer Girls Born.)
Naira Zohrabyan, a member of parliament from the Prosperous Armenia
party who took part in the PACE discussion, worried, however, that
a new law might do more harm than good.
"In a country like Armenia where corruption in the healthcare and
education systems has reached unprecedented levels, a law like
this would be pointless and would become just one more source of
corruption," she said. "I personally will vote against it, since not
only will it fail to solve one problem, it will create another one.
"We need to think about running the right kind of publicity campaign
to change our way of thinking. Until that happens, no law is going
to help."
Lyudmila Sargsyan, a member of the parliamentary health committee,
also doubted whether the law would be effective.
"I'm not sure whether this is an effective way of fighting this
battle. You can't rule out that doctors will start telling parents
the baby's sex in return for money," she said.
Marietta Gevorgyan, a mother of two girls, aborted a third pregnancy
when she discovered she was due to have another girl. She too does
not believe the law will work.
"At the moment, doctors aren't allowed to reveal the sex of a foetus
before the 19th week of pregnancy, but everyone finds out - even very
early on," she said.
Avagyan insisted that the health ministry would find mechanisms for
preventing doctors from informing parents.
"Surveillance cameras will be installed in doctors' surgeries, and
doctors will face legal action if they break the law. In some cases,
they could even lose their jobs," she said.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/armenian-politicians-moot-sex-selection-ban
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #741
June 20 2014
Authorities decide to copy other countries' success in legislating
against option for aborting female foetuses By Arpi Harutyunyan -
Caucasus
Parliamentarians in Armenia are discussing a ban on doctors revealing
the sex of a foetus before the 30th week of pregnancy, which they
hope will reduce selective abortions. They recognise, however, that
legislation could open up a new avenue for doctors to take bribes
from parents who want sons, not daughters.
"The bill hasn't been circulated yet. We will discuss its problems
with members of parliament, and then send it to the government," Ara
Babloyan, chairman of parliament's health committee, said on May 20.
The proposed law is based on a study on births in Armenia in 2012-13
which the health ministry conducted with help from the United Nations,
and which concluded that every year 1,400 fewer girls are born than
should naturally be the case.
"In Armenia, abortion and selective birth of children by gender
is becoming very worrying. We are destroying the country's future
mothers," said Garik Hayrapetyan, head of the United Nations Population
Fund office in Armenia.
He said that if nothing was done, Armenia would lose over 90,000
female babies by 2060.
The birth ratio in Armenia in 2012 was 114 boys for every 100 girls.
The natural ratio is between 102 and 106 boys to every 100 girls. The
most distorted figure was in Gegharkunik region, where the ratio was
124 to 100.
"The fact that families prefer to have boys is a chronic problem
that cannot be resolved immediately. We need to do long-term work
on it," Gayane Avagyan, head of the health ministry's maternity and
reproductive health department, told IWPR. "Another factor is the
country's birth rate. People used to have four to five children,
which ensured a gender balance, but now they have two. Third and no
less important, modern technology allows people to discover the sex
of the child even very early on in pregnancy."
According to a opinion poll conducted alongside study, couples are six
times more likely to want a boy than a girl, and selective abortion
becomes more common in a third or fourth pregnancy, when couples are
desperate to have a son.
"We have a patriarchal society, and people prefer boys to girls on
the grounds that boys continue the family line," Hayrapetyan said,
citing the responses given in the survey.
Avagyan said the health ministry had discussed the issue many times
with women's groups, psychologists, the United Nations and other
organisations, and it had looked at the experiences of other countries
in combating sex-selective abortions. She said officials had concluded
that the best place to start was by passing a law similar to ones
that had worked in other countries.
The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe passed a
resolution on the issue in 2011, singling out Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Georgia and Albania as countries with particularly worrying records in
sex-selective abortions. (See also South Caucasus: Selective Abortion
Means Fewer Girls Born.)
Naira Zohrabyan, a member of parliament from the Prosperous Armenia
party who took part in the PACE discussion, worried, however, that
a new law might do more harm than good.
"In a country like Armenia where corruption in the healthcare and
education systems has reached unprecedented levels, a law like
this would be pointless and would become just one more source of
corruption," she said. "I personally will vote against it, since not
only will it fail to solve one problem, it will create another one.
"We need to think about running the right kind of publicity campaign
to change our way of thinking. Until that happens, no law is going
to help."
Lyudmila Sargsyan, a member of the parliamentary health committee,
also doubted whether the law would be effective.
"I'm not sure whether this is an effective way of fighting this
battle. You can't rule out that doctors will start telling parents
the baby's sex in return for money," she said.
Marietta Gevorgyan, a mother of two girls, aborted a third pregnancy
when she discovered she was due to have another girl. She too does
not believe the law will work.
"At the moment, doctors aren't allowed to reveal the sex of a foetus
before the 19th week of pregnancy, but everyone finds out - even very
early on," she said.
Avagyan insisted that the health ministry would find mechanisms for
preventing doctors from informing parents.
"Surveillance cameras will be installed in doctors' surgeries, and
doctors will face legal action if they break the law. In some cases,
they could even lose their jobs," she said.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/armenian-politicians-moot-sex-selection-ban