I woke up Tuesday morning wondering, “What will the Stock Market do today?” and fearing the worst. Instead, my attention was diverted by a link I received from a friend to the video above.  It’s a trailer for the documentary, “It’s a girl!”

Amazing how quickly a 3-minute video can put things in perspective.

Who knew that words spoken when I was born or the joyous announcement at my daughter’s birth are, in some places, “the three most deadly words in the world.” I’m still trying to absorb the fact that each year China and India eliminate more girls (for no other reason than they are girls) than girls born in the U.S.  The loss of these precious lives and the trauma to their mothers is beyond appalling. But there are other serious consequences, for the resulting gender imbalance has a destabilizing effect on a culture leading to such things as an increase in violence and sex trafficking. 

Last week I met with Chai Ling, founder of All Girls Allowed, to learn more about what’s happening and her tireless efforts to get governments to act and to reach out to women who have suffered or are facing forced abortions or have courageously managed to keep their daughters. If you’re asking what you can do, Ling’s website is the place to go for information and ideas. The least we can do is to sign the petition asking President Obama and Congress to put pressure on the Chinese government to end the One Child Policy that is responsible for the deaths of millions of little girls. I hope you will do that.