Friday is the International Day of the Girl.

On Monday as I was thinking about the special day and browsing through the news, two stories caught my eye.

The first headline read, “Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Ariz. Abortion Law” which bans sex and race-based abortions.

Then the second, “Australian Doctor Investigated for Refusing to Do Sex-Selective Abortion.”

And last week, I read about a debate in England after two doctors were caught agreeing to do illegal sex-based abortions. The government has said it won’t prosecuted the doctors.

I wonder whether others raising awareness about women’s rights made the connection between these stories and the reason we have an International Day of the Girl.

The United Nations estimates that up to 160 million girls are missing in our world today because of sex-selection abortion.

There are many, many injustices against women in our world, from education and career discrimination to sexual harassment and human trafficking. But sex-based abortion, which I consider among the worst of injustices, goes unnoticed far too often when we talk about women’s rights.

This Friday, help raise awareness about gender discrimination in the womb. Here are a few ideas:

Check out the trailer for “It’s a Girl,” a new documentary about this issue.

Share a graphic like this one or the one above on Facebook or Instagram. Or make your own!

Post a video of Live Action’s genocide investigation.

Learn more about the issue by visiting Women’s Rights without Frontiers.

Connect pregnant women in your community with life-affirming and empowering support. Click here to find a list of pregnancy resources in Pennsylvania.