Mr. Speaker, I have a petition asking the House of Commons to formally condemn discrimination against females occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination. The petitioners draw to our attention the fact that in Canada ultrasounds are being used to tell the sex of unborn children and parents are choosing to terminate the pregnancy if the unborn child is a girl. They ask all parties to condemn that.
Petitioners point to the fact that 92% of Canadians believe sex-selective pregnancy termination should be illegal. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada vehemently opposes sex selection. Millions of girls have been lost through sex-selective abortion, creating a global gender imbalance and causing girls to be trafficked into prostitution. Petitioners reiterate that Parliament should condemn this worst form of discrimination against females by condemning sex-selective abortions.