Hussain Hazazi
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH – Head of Saudi Obstetrics and Gynecological Society Professor Hassan Abduljabbar has made shocking revelations on female feticide in the Kingdom.
According to the leading doctor, many pregnant women are forced to get abortions by their husbands after sonograms reveal the gender of the fetus to be female.
“Sadly, many pregnant women are pressured into abortion by their husbands after they find out the fetus is a girl. My colleagues and I have come across several such cases and we urge the women who know their husbands may react negatively to refrain from getting a sonogram,” said Abduljabbar.
He added many doctors and hospitals have had to go to court due to feuds between patients and doctors over the gender of the baby.
“We have had women come to us doctors for help because their husbands were pressuring them to undergo an abortion after finding out the baby will be a girl and not a boy. We have also had instances of doctors being taken to court and sued because they initially said the baby will be a boy but is instead born a girl,” said Abduljabbar.
He also said many fathers simply refuse to pick up their newborns from hospitals by claiming the hospital had lied to them about their child’s gender.
“Sonograms are not 100 percent accurate and fetuses develop differently. Such mistakes can happen but some fathers do not have any mental tolerance or love toward their babies,” said Abduljabbar while explaining that women should not get more than two sonograms because doing so can prove harmful to both mother and baby.
“During pregnancy, women should only have two sessions of sonograms. The sonograms are used by doctors to check on the baby’s health. Using the sonograms too frequently can lead to health risks for the baby and the mother,” said Abduljabbar.
In many countries identifying the sex of an unborn baby with the help of a sonogram and revealing it to the parents is prohibited by law.
