@Evan Davis: "Since you didn't come right out and say it, I will. Abortion is not causing the problem in these countries; Patriarchy is." No Evan, Socialism is. No matter what the gender preference is, there are still children being exterminated by the will of the state. Until you can face up to that fact, you will only be contributing to a silent holocaust by supporting a vicious ideology that holds the miracles of both childbirth and family as an anathema. I find it hard to believe in a God, but thanks to folks like you, I can most definitely believe the devil is there. For the rest of you, check out this blog, from one of the few religious people I know who actually gets it: http://dalrock.wordpress.com/

There are thousand up on thousands of broken hearted men and women over the unwanted yet required abortions. Wounds that just never heal and show up as anger and resentment. Hopelessness. Until He comes, to show, to treat girls and women with dignity and respect must be taught and insisted on. Sadly this issue is so tied into "liberal feminism", we often forget the person who is hurt. thank you for this post and thank you to others who are actively raising this issue and fighting it in real and practical ways.

Amy Julia, Great article. We hope for change in those countries. @CL... I am prolife but props to you for saying: "pro-life groups bemoan abortion but can't acknowledge that the patriarchal culture to which they contribute is part of the problem and not any part of the solution."

Barbara -- Each and every one of your purported "facts" is false. State law does not mandate the medical disclosure forms. Mandatory ultrasound laws actually contradict what the medical professional organizations recommend. It would take too long to sort out your confusion about the role of "guidelines" and "legal liability." The majority of states require parental involvement in a minor's abortion decision (although most have judicial by-pass provisions for very limited circumstances). Organizations staffed by humans sometimes hire humans who err. See, e.g., Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Bakker, Ted Haggard, pedophile priests .... It doesn't make the entire organization evil. Pro-life groups in my state have sponsored dozens of billboards claiming that "babies" just a few days after conception have a beating heart, while showing on the billboard an ultrasound picture of a fetus that is weeks, if not months, older than what they are talking about. So much for the "truth" setting you free I guess. Pro-life groups bemoan abortion but can't acknowledge that the patriarchal culture to which they contribute is part of the problem and not any part of the solution. For example, they focus on forcing these so-called "facts" and procedures on women, rather than on trying to solve the problems leading women to seek out abortion in the first place, such as poverty, lack of educational opportunity, and lack of access to safe, affordable, and comprehensive family planning services. And, as we've seen in this article, showing women ultrasounds can have just the opposite effect of what the pro-life community wants.

CL, it may not be federal law to have disclosure forms, but it is certainly state law in the majority of the states, if not all 50 states. In addition, it is a part of the AMA ethical guidelines, and although the AMA's ethical guidelines are not binding by law, courts have used ethical obligations as the basis for imposing legal obligations. Do you ever get tired of playing word games, I guess not, it is part of your so-called profession. CL, only a totally leftist who has a major agenda of aborting babies, and is not pro-choice, but obviously is pro-killing of babies would say that women need less information about a medical procedure that they are about to undergo. It's totally demeaning to women to think that they can't handle more information. It also is ignorant to think that Planned Parent is giving women all the information about the "procedure" that they are about to undergo because videos show that they do not. You're very good at using euphemisms for the murdering of these children. I'm sure you'll deny the fact that they found that each Planned Parenthood "clinic" has goals to reach of performing a certain amount of abortions so they can get more money. That's what everything boils down to in the end it seems, power and money. Planned Parenthood also was caught advising men and women on how to run underage prostitution rings, basically sexual slavery. And you're all for this, using language like in the book 1984, to make it sound more appealing to people, to hide the fact that they are killing a real baby with a beating heart. On day 22, less than a week after you can get a positive pregnancy test, the baby's heart is beating. Don't bother lying and denying their goals of reaching a certain amount of abortions, and the help they have given to prostitution rings using underage children, it's easy enough to verify online with videos and in the mainstream press. I really don't see how you can call yourself a Christian and be so vehemently pro-abortion and actually fight against people having more knowledge about a procedure they're about to undergo. There ARE major risks such as accidentally cutting into the uterus with the curette or forceps, there is a risk of not suctioning out all of the fetus, leaving a bit behind which would cause a major infection like septicemia, and also, without an ultrasound, there is always a chance of having a positive pregnancy test, but the fetus is ectopic aka a tubal pregnancy. Without the ultrasound, the woman would go away thinking she had an abortion, while the baby in the fallopian tube is still growing, and when the tube eventually ruptures, the woman can easily die, it's like a ruptured appendix. If you really did truly care about the women, you would want to demand that an ultrasound be done first, so there is no risk of an ectopic pregnancy. In my state, as in most states, young women under the age of 18 need parental consent to have their ears pierced, the parent has to be present and both the daughter and mother show ID, but none of this is required of course to have a baby killed. It's really ridiculous to have ear piercing more regulated than abortions at the abortion mills. We're talking about lives here, and the lobbyists and lawyers use their power to keep these human abortion mills running, it's a travesty of justice, and I am sure that God is totally against this. Why do I get the impression you either work for Planned Parenthood or for the government somehow?

Laura -- The issue of so-called pro-life Christians supporting laws requiring women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound, or to be read certain "facts" before they can receive the abortion, is in fact related to the topic of this article. The article is about how cultural and legal systems that demean women lead to the views that make sex-selection abortions so widespread. I think that Christians who believe they are pro-life need to realize the effect of the laws they are pushing, which in my opinion, continue to demean women by not trusting them, in consultation with their doctors, to be able to make a decision for themselves. They are pushing to impose even more demeaning laws onto women. "For every medical procedure the law requires the doctor/hospital to provide a comprehensive list of facts regarding possible "side effects" or things that could go wrong, and you (man or woman) must sign your consent to say that you understand and rescind your legal right to sue." -- You said you don't live in the U.S., so perhaps this is how it is in your country, but this is NOT the way it works in the U.S. Here, these disclosure forms are NOT created by law. Doctors and hospitals, in connection with other medical professionals, NOT THE GOVERNMENT, create guidelines and protocols that doctors follow. And certainly, signing those forms does NOT "rescind your legal right to sue" in this country. It is only with abortion that legislators want to get in between a woman and her doctor. And, we don't do that to men.

International Teams (iteams.org) has been combating poverty and injustice throughout South Asia and East Asia. Check out their most recent effort to raise awareness and support for the forgotten in our world: songsfortheoppressed.org/

Christian Lawyer - In answer to your question, yes we do. For every medical procedure the law requires the doctor/hospital to provide a comprehensive list of facts regarding possible "side effects" or things that could go wrong, and you (man or woman) must sign your consent to say that you understand and rescind your legal right to sue. When I had eye surgery, one of the possibilities listed was that I could die. That was a highly remote possibility, but I still had to sign. These kinds of requirements are true for both men and women, except for women wanting to have an abortion in many states. I don't think this topic is directly related to the blog article, so I don't think we can continue this conversation. Sorry.

Laura -- Part of right of decision-making is determing which "facts" are important to consider. Requiring that certain "facts" must be presented to a woman takes that part of the decision-making process away from the woman and her doctor and gives it to the government. Allowing that women are "capable" of decision-making, only with the caveat that the government must supply the "facts" -- even where the woman is already consulting a professional -- treats the woman as a child. Do we ever do that to men?

*To Christian Lawyer - While I agree that the opposing purposes and results of using ultrasound in different countries is an irony, I disagree that laws regarding use of ultrasound provision of "certain facts" to a woman considering abortion is patriarchial and demeaning. It is the opposite. These requirements say that a woman IS capable of making a sound decision given factual information. *I think that widespread acceptance of abortion is part of the problem because it stems from the fact that these cultures in general do not value human life beyond what it contributes materially to society. Men and women are both only commodities. Women just have less value. I also live in one of the countries mentioned, and one example is the appalling lack of worker safety here. Children with handicaps, even minor deformities also suffer for this reason. Many are abandoned. *It is promotion of the value of human beings - men and women - as God's creation and programs that empower women and girls in their society will help more than laws.