Sex based abortion bans are the latest battle ground pitting the pro choice and pro life movements.(photo by Steve Rhodes)
This week, the National Asian Pacific America Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) along with the ACLU and NAACP appealed a ruling by the Federal Court upholding an Arizona ban on abortions based on sex and race.
“It encourages doctors to racially profile a woman before determining whether to provide her a safe, legal medical service,” wrote Miriam Yeung of the NAPAWF and Rev Oscar Tillman for the NAACP in the Daily Beast. “Legislators have repeatedly invoked ugly racial stereotypes to advance these bans—pointing to the “backwards beliefs” of AAPI women as the justification for banning abortion based on sex and the desire of Black women to “de-select” members of their own race as the motivation for banning abortion based on race.”
According to RH Reality Check, 7 states in the country have passed such bans.
Earlier this month, the South Dakota house pass a ban on sex based abortions and the bill is now in the Senate.
Many supporters of such bans point to demographic shifts, often the increase in the Asian American population, as the reason such bans are necessary (Photo by Catholic Sun)
“Let me tell you, our population in South Dakota is a lot more diverse than it ever was,” said State Rep Don Haggar (R-Sioux Falls). “There are cultures that look at a sex-selection abortion as being culturally OK. And I will suggest to you that we are embracing individuals from some of those cultures in this country, or in this state.”
