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April 29, 2007

The Global War Against Baby Boys

ITA neighbor Joe Carter of the Evangelical Outpost recently penned a piece titled "The Global War Against Baby Girls." In it Joe argues couples across the world, but particularly in China, are selectively aborting baby girls in favor of boys, having a dramatic effect on the boy to girl birth ratios.

This is, of course, a horrific and disturbing practice, although not necessarily a new phenomenon in the course of human history. What is new, however, is a different global war against the opposite sex, baby boys, for reasons far less evident. Thanks to high levels of air pollution and chemical toxins, the natural number of male births compared to female births is declining. MSNBC reports:

Traditionally, it's been expected that for every 100 girls born, there will be about 105 boys. This balances out the higher death rate among male fetuses and infants. But since 1970, the U.S. and Japan have experienced a downward shift in this male-to-female birth ratio...

Other areas have experienced similar problems. A team from Sao Paulo University in Brazil found fewer boys were born in the most polluted areas. Testing done in Scotland, Italy, Canada, and other industrialized countries such as Sweden, Germany, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands all point to similar decreases. The link to pollution remains somewhat controversial, but it is gaining acceptance.

Declining ratios aren't the only problem. Males in developed countries have also seen lower levels of testosterone (with some attributing lower prenatal levels to higher incidents of homosexuality), lower sperm counts, and increases in testicular cancer. Many scientists point to increased pollution as the cause.

Joe ends his post with this: "As we will soon realize, changes in our global climate are a minor threat compared to the havoc that will result from the changes in global demographics." Yet, as these studies suggest, changes in our environment are much more than a minor threat. Pollution can also reak havoc on global demographics in equally powerful ways.

(Ed.: Updated to include additional links and clarity.)

Posted by Joshua Claybourn at April 29, 2007 05:47 PM

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