Horrible, even tragic consequences of sex-selective abortions were constantly voiced over years that finally the country’s top officials are also troubled. Still last year, in one of the government session, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan said, “I as a Prime Minister and as a proud father of 2 girls am concerned about the environment in which we lose thousands of future mothers.” Saying thousand sounds mild. According to the UNDP survey data, Armenia will lose more than 90 thousand future mothers in 2060 as a result of selective abortions. About 2,000 baby-girls per year are not born for only they are formed a girl in the mother’s womb. Today, there are 100 girls to 114 boys. This number has a small tendency to decrease. In Gegharkunik and Aragatsotn provinces, girl-boy ratio exceeds the worst figure in the world. In these provinces, there are 100 girls to 124 boys. This means that abortion is performed more on girls in these provinces. Last year, Hovik Abrahamyan had instructed the Minister of Health to elaborate a program to improve the situation and to submit it to the government until March of this year for approval. “The program is almost ready, and it has been circulated in the government, soon, the final version will come,” said the Head of Maternity and Reproduction Department at the Ministry of Health Gayane Avagyan to “Aravot”.
To our question of what mechanisms are planned, which will help to prevent sex-selective abortion, Ms. Avagyan said that an amendment has been made to the Law on “Administrative Violations”, which implies administrative sanctions to those who would try performing sex-selective abortion. “A great financial fine is defined. If the doctor performing the abortion was to get a few thousand drams for it, not the fine will be so high that they will avoid doing it, and in case of recurrence, they will lose their jobs.” To the question of “Aravot” of who it will be identified that it was a sex-selective abortion, Ms. Avagyan said, revealing that there are a variety of ways to identify it. “There are some mechanisms through which it will be possible to identify.”
Note that the sex of the fetus is revealed after 12 weeks of pregnancy, until the 12th week of pregnancy it is allowed to prevent it, the law prohibits abortions after 12 weeks. Note also that there are many cases when the sex of the fetus is identified at the 11 weeks. The UN Population Fund Assistant Representative Garik Hayrapetyan, in the conversation with “Aravot”, noted that there are 3 main directions with which the world is trying to fight against selective abortions. One of them, according to Hayrapetyan, is certain legislative restrictions. “Many countries did so, including, many developed countries, where the selective abortion is banned. This experience does exist, but it is of very little effect, anyway, even without it, no step can be done until people admit and understand that sex-selective abortion is a bad thing, an evil.
The other important step is to create conditions for heath care service providing doctors. For instance, let them also begin working with the parents and try to keep away from this happening. The 3rd direction is even more important – raising public awareness, especially the woman’s role in the society. These 3 directions are primarily taken into account in the government program, in other words, we should also fight against selective abortions in our country almost in the same way.” In Mr. Hayrapetyan’s words, the selective abortion is a consequence while the reasons are varied. The main reason is that the man has a higher role in our society than the woman. Many people tend to have a boy as shown by the surveys in order to feel better about themselves, or let’s say, many people think that the boy will find a better and higher paid job, eventually at the old-age, the boy “takes care” after his parents. While, for example, in the province of Gegharkunik, the survey revealed that they give preference to the boys so that in the future the parents will send him to migrant work, so they will send money to their parents and they will have a way of living.
Garik Hayrapetyan noted that it is necessary to break this stereotype. Actually, there are also a lot of daughters that take care of their parent better than the boys, have better employment and are paid higher salaries. Being in still in an unfinished war situation, Armenia, as noted by Hayrapetyan, will later have a problem of the Army. If nowadays, a lot of abortions are performed on girls, and the boys are many, it does not mean that there will be a large amount of conscription of boys. The day will come that there will be fewer mothers to give birth to these boys. “Who will give birth to these soldiers some 20 years later?” The program is intended to involve social workers in the fight against selective abortions. For example, there will be families with 2 girls and bearing the 3rd baby girl, and there is an intention to perform an abortion, the social worker should conduct a psychological work with this family and be attentive to prevent the pregnancy interruption.
The government’s program, according to Haurapetyan, is a mid-term, the basic activities should be taken in 3 years. As for the mechanism of identifying the illegal abortion-performing doctors and punishing them, Hayrapetyan said, “Definitely, it would be difficult to identify them, but even if 2-3 cases are identified, it will spread out to others, and definitely we will have the effect.” To our question of whether the rights of the woman is not violated by this prohibition law, who does not want to have a baby girl, Mr. Hayrapetyan replied, “We should consider that the human’s fundamental right is violated by the abortion, the right to be born. Which should be put on the scale? Which is heavier? It is a little vague, on the one hand, it is the child’s right to life, on the other hand, the right of woman’s desire.”
Nelly BABAYAN
