Russian lawmakers criticized a proposal that would prevent expectant couples from finding out the sex of their child.
Media reports on Wednesday said the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has drafted a resolution requiring medical staff to withhold gender information during pregnancy. The proposal aims to prevent "selective abortions" based on gender, a practice that proponents of the ban say is widespread in a number of former Soviet states and in the Balkans.
But Russian Duma deputies said the gender prediction ban is unacceptable because it would apply to all 47 PACE member states, even though selective abortion is only a problem in a few of them. Moreover, the ban would violate the Russian Constitution.
"Only parents have the right to decide whether to find out the child's sex or make it a surprise," said Duma Deputy Tatiana Yakovleva, a member of the Committee on Health Protection. Any such measure would need to take into account country specifics, she said.
Deputy Elena Afanasyeva, a member of the Committee on Family, Women and Children, said Russia does not need the measure. "Such a decision may restrict rights and freedoms," Afanasyeva said. "Each nation has its own traditions and it is unacceptable to enact such a document on a global level," she added.
PACE is expected to debate the measure from October 3 to October 7.
