GOP Lawmaker: We Need to Ban Sex-Selective Abortions Because of Asian Immigrants | Mother Jones

No. This headline is not an exaggeration or hyperbole. This is the reality of some sick and twisted minds led by Jenna Hagger in South Dakota. What is ironic, these morons think baby girl fetuses should be protected, but adult women should be oppressed. And which of the 2 abortion providers in SD will the 100,000 or so Asian-Americans prefer to go to.

Imaginary problem, I think so.

South Dakota already has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation. But last week, Republican legislators there moved to make it even harder for women to have abortions—with a law they argue is necessary to stop an influx of Asian immigrants from aborting their female children.

On Wednesday, by a vote of 60 to 10, the South Dakota House passed a bill that would ban abortions based on the sex of the fetus, or "sex-selective" abortions. Speaking in favor of the bill, Stace Nelson, a Republican state representative running for the US Senate, hearkened back to his time living in Asia as a Marine. "Many of you know I spent 18 years in Asia," Nelson said. "And sadly, I can tell you that the rest of the world does not value the lives of women as much as I value the lives of my daughters."

Don Haggar, another Republican state representative, warned that the values Nelson observed in Asia had already taken root in South Dakota. "Let me tell you, our population in South Dakota is a lot more diverse than it ever was," Haggar said. "There are cultures that look at a sex-selection abortion as being culturally okay. And I will suggest to you that we are embracing individuals from some of those cultures in this country, or in this state. And I think that's a good thing that we invite them to come, but I think it's also important that we send a message that this is a state that values life, regardless of its sex."

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"The racism and the stereotypes and the stigma is laid so bare here," says Miriam Yeung, the director of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum. The group has long argued that that sex-selective abortion bans perpetuate negative stereotypes about Asian American women. "We've been saying that these bills are wolves in sheep's clothing. But in this case, I think the wolf has left off the sheep's clothing."

Haggar tells Mother Jones that he was not singling out any one ethnic group—although he specifically called out Nelson's Asian travels in his remarks Wednesday.

GOP Lawmaker: We Need to Ban Sex-Selective Abortions Because of Asian Immigrants | Mother Jones