Via CNS News:
(CNSNews.com) – The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $288,503 grant to State University of New York at Albany to study family and health consequences of the sex ratio imbalance in India caused by sex-selective abortion technologies.
“India has long experienced a numerical shortage of females, and this sex ratio imbalance is likely to grow with the widespread adoption of sex-selective abortion technologies,” the grant abstract said.
“India is the world’s second most populous country and projected to become the largest by 2050. Growing imbalances in India’s sex ratio have the potential to alter substantially multiple dimensions of demographic and family-related behavior, including the sexual behaviors that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS,” the grant said.
“Consequently, learning more about the family and health consequences of India’s growing male surplus and female deficit is an important scientific objective,” it added.
Although “considerable research” has been done on “levels, trends, and differentials” in India’s sex-ratio imbalance, little is known about the consequences of India’s sex-ratio imbalance as it applies to “family, demographic and health-related behaviors.”