China's abortion policy: "Boon" or "Gendercide"?

The AP seems to think China's one child police is a boon for girls (see the First Things link below). From the article:

"Crediting the one-child policy with improving the lives of women is jarring, given its history and how it’s harmed women in other ways. Facing pressure to stay under population quotas, overzealous family planning officials have resorted to forced sterilizations and late-term abortions, sometimes within weeks of delivery, although such practices are illegal.

The birth limits are also often criticized for encouraging sex-selective abortions in a son-favoring society." 

Hmmm. Doesn't sound like a boon.  The UN has the facts, and UNICEF has a more brutally realistic view:

"Still, 43 million girls have “disappeared” in China due to gender-selective abortion as well as neglect and inadequate access to health care and nutrition, the United Nations estimated in a report last year.

Yin Yin Nwe, UNICEF’s representative to China, puts it bluntly: The one-child policy brings many benefits for girls 'but they have to be born first.'”

http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2011/09/02/killing-girls-in-china-is-good-for-the-girls-who-survive/#more-33872