The selective termination of a pregnancy based on gender is on the rise globally. Science has made it easier than ever to detect the sex of a fetus and to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy. The phenomenon is growing not only in countries like China and India, but also in places like Vietnam, Korea, Georgia and Albania.
Mara Hvistendahl is the Beijing-based correspondent for Science magazine and author of Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men. She tells Worldview why, as sex selection becomes more common and the world becomes increasingly male, we may face profound social upheaval down the road.