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Council of Europe recommends banning finding out the sex of a future child during pregnancy
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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The Council of Europe may recommend that member states impose restrictions on the provision of information about the sex of the unborn child in state maternity hospitals. The draft resolution to this effect, as The Telegraph writes, was approved at the end of last week by the Council of Europe's Equal Opportunities Committee.
According to the authors of the document, the necessity of the proposed restrictions is connected with the growing problem of gender imbalance among newborns in a number of Eastern European countries. This situation is explained by the spread of selective abortions, which are carried out in cases where parents are not satisfied with the gender of the future child. As a rule, this concerns the traditional preference of boys over girls in many cultures.
Usually, the sex of the unborn child is determined by ultrasound examination, but recently genetic tests have become widespread, allowing one to determine the sex of the fetus at an earlier stage of pregnancy.
According to the Council of Europe, the most unfavorable situation with sex-selective abortions is in countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Albania and Georgia. The sex ratio among newborns in these countries is 111-112 boys per 100 girls, while in the normal human population there are 105 newborn boys for every 100 girls.
In addition to the European countries mentioned, sex-selective abortion is also common in China and India. Over the past few years, these countries have introduced a number of restrictions on the use of ultrasound examinations during pregnancy, as well as on termination of pregnancy without medical indications.
It is expected that the draft resolution will be considered at the next parliamentary session of the Council of Europe in early October. However, the decisions of the Council of Europe are advisory in nature and are not mandatory for the member states of the organization.