The practice of sex-selective abortion has resulted in a dramatic decline in the number of girls in certain parts of the world. It's a genuine human rights crisis that, in places like the Indian state of Haryana, has led to a gender ratio of 832 girls for every 1,000 boys. These kinds of skewed gender ratios have caught the attention of the international community, and, in recent years, many members of Congress.

But, as Salon has previously noted, many of the American lawmakers talking the loudest about the issue are doing so in a cynical attempt to undermine women's reproductive rights. When politicians like Arizona Rep. Trent Franks and New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith talk about eradicating sex-selective abortion, they don't mean challenging the sexist cultural norms that fuel son preference -- they mean banning abortion. Period.

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As human rights advocate Mallika Dutt notes in a Monday editorial for RH Reality Check, "The people shaking their fists the hardest about the issue are actually those who are most hostile to women’s rights." (Full disclosure: Mallika is a friend and former colleague.) But, as Dutt continues, claiming to "protect" women's rights by denying women rights makes absolutely no sense: