It's a bitter pill to swallow.

Tolerance for a law and a set of rules that effectively enables female feticide - making it possible for women to choose abortion as a means of selecting the gender of their baby - is at first blush repugnant.

It doesn't get prettier on the secoand and third blushes, either.

It is ironic, but it's the only position that can be taken if Canadian women are going to continue to receive full protection under the Constitution.

Data recently released by the Canadian Medical Association Journal supports what many have long believed, that some women are aborting female fetuses because of a cultural preference for sons.

The study found that third-child births among Indian-born women living in Ontario were at a ratio of 136 boys to 100 girls.

By comparison, third children of Canadian-born mothers were born at a ratio of 105 boys to 100 girls. The study mirrors results from previous research in Canada and the United States, and its authors feel it is "unlikely" the numbers can be explained by chance.

In January, the journal called on Canadian obstetricians to cease disclosing fetal gender until 30 weeks' gestation. Doctors here rarely perform abortions past 22 weeks unless the fetus is fatally abnormal or the mother's life is in danger.

Certainly such a move, which was met with strong resistance from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, would go a long way to ending gender-selective abortions.

As right as it sounds, it's wrong.

Women in Canada have the right to choose to be pregnant or not be pregnant. And they don't have to give "good enough" reasons.

Refusing to provide information about fetal gender is tantamount to restricting a woman's choice and the very first slippery step.

To no one's surprise, there are communities in our country that do not value women as much as they value men. Feelings may shift with education and, to a point, assimilation - or if these same communities find they are short of women.

Laws that protect all Canadian women cannot be altered to meet the perceived issues of an immigrant group.

Female feticide is horrible and wrong. It is also the lesser of two evils.