Könsselektiv abort i Sverige - naturligt, avskyvärt eller acceptabelt?
Sex-selective abortions in Sweden - natural, despicable or acceptable?
Author
Summary, in English
Because of the development in the field of prenatal diagnosis, it is today possible to have a great deal of information about a foetus before it is born. A few years ago, Swedish press wrote about a woman who, at two separate occasions, chose to undergo abortion because diagnostics of the foetus showed that it was of an undesired sex. This thesis aims to describe and examine in what extent pregnant women have the right to choose their future child’s gender through the application of abortion. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate if, and if so also how, sex-selective abortions can be regulated in Swedish law.
The right to abortion has been a part of Swedish law since the introduction of the 1974 abortion law. The law states that a pregnant woman is entitled to have an abortion done until the end of the eighteenth week of pregnancy. The use of prenatal testing is regulated in Swedish law. The law provides no limit in the amount of information about the foetus the pregnant woman is entitled to. However, regulations given from The National Board of Health and Welfare’s state that information about the sex of the foetus is not to be obtained during prenatal testing, but that the information is to be disclosed if it has been obtained in accordance with another aim and the woman requests it. Originally, the purpose of prenatal testing was to determine the length of the pregnancy and to verify that the foetus was developing normally. Today, prenatal testing also aims at discovering abnormalities and diseases and at finding out the sex of the foetus. Development in the prenatal testing field has led to the introduction of new prenatal testing methods. By the use of these methods, a foetus’ sex can be determined early on in the pregnancy.
The right to abortion, together with the right the pregnant woman has to take part of the information obtained during prenatal testing, adds up to make sex-selective abortions legal in Sweden. An exact figure on how widespread the phenomenon is in Sweden is not available, since a pregnant woman does not have to give a reason as to why she wants to undergo an abortion. Motions with propositions on how to prevent sex-selective abortions have been submitted. To this day, the legislator has chosen not to act on the matter. It has stated that the Swedish right to abortion should remain as it is.
This thesis discusses whether the Swedish legislator would be able to regulate the occurrence of sex-selective abortions. Firstly, it deals with the possibility of forbidding sex-selective abortions in the abortion law. The possibility of enacting medical legislation to restrict the caregivers’ right to disclose the information about the sex of a foetus and the possibility to restrict the pregnant woman’s right to the information is discussed as a second solution. The third solution involves the introduction of law or guidelines that prevent new prenatal diagnostic methods from being introduced into Swedish medical care, or to prevent the medical care from using the methods in order to determine the sex of a foetus.
The right to abortion has been a part of Swedish law since the introduction of the 1974 abortion law. The law states that a pregnant woman is entitled to have an abortion done until the end of the eighteenth week of pregnancy. The use of prenatal testing is regulated in Swedish law. The law provides no limit in the amount of information about the foetus the pregnant woman is entitled to. However, regulations given from The National Board of Health and Welfare’s state that information about the sex of the foetus is not to be obtained during prenatal testing, but that the information is to be disclosed if it has been obtained in accordance with another aim and the woman requests it. Originally, the purpose of prenatal testing was to determine the length of the pregnancy and to verify that the foetus was developing normally. Today, prenatal testing also aims at discovering abnormalities and diseases and at finding out the sex of the foetus. Development in the prenatal testing field has led to the introduction of new prenatal testing methods. By the use of these methods, a foetus’ sex can be determined early on in the pregnancy.
The right to abortion, together with the right the pregnant woman has to take part of the information obtained during prenatal testing, adds up to make sex-selective abortions legal in Sweden. An exact figure on how widespread the phenomenon is in Sweden is not available, since a pregnant woman does not have to give a reason as to why she wants to undergo an abortion. Motions with propositions on how to prevent sex-selective abortions have been submitted. To this day, the legislator has chosen not to act on the matter. It has stated that the Swedish right to abortion should remain as it is.
This thesis discusses whether the Swedish legislator would be able to regulate the occurrence of sex-selective abortions. Firstly, it deals with the possibility of forbidding sex-selective abortions in the abortion law. The possibility of enacting medical legislation to restrict the caregivers’ right to disclose the information about the sex of a foetus and the possibility to restrict the pregnant woman’s right to the information is discussed as a second solution. The third solution involves the introduction of law or guidelines that prevent new prenatal diagnostic methods from being introduced into Swedish medical care, or to prevent the medical care from using the methods in order to determine the sex of a foetus.
Department/s
Publishing year
2014
Language
Swedish
Full text
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Document type
Student publication for professional degree (Master's level)
Topic
- Law and Political Science
Keywords
- familjerätt
- abort
- fosterdiagnostik
- könsselektiv
- selektiv
- kön
Supervisor
- Eva Ryrstedt