Page "Sex-selective abortion" Paragraph 21

In modern East Asia, a large part of the pattern of preferences leading to this practice can be condensed simply as a desire to have a male heir.

Monica Das Gupta ( 2005 ) observes that, in late 1980s to early 1990s China, there was no evidence of selective abortion of female fetuses among firstborn children, or in families with one or more existing sons ( in fact, families with multiple sons were, if anything, more likely to abort a boy than a girl ).

But, at the same time, families with existing daughters appeared very likely to abort any further female fetuses, resulting in heavily skewed sex ratios.