Female Foeticide As a Violation Of Article 21 of Constitution

of India

B.A.,L.L.B. (Hons.)

IX Semester, 5th Year

Submitted To:
Prof. Nuzhat Parveen Khan
Submitted by:
Varun Mittal
Class B
 Female Foeticide

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my profound sense of gratitude to Prof. Nuzhat Parveen Khan
for providing me his invaluable support, encouragement, supervision and useful suggestions
throughout this research work. His moral support and continuous guidance enabled me to
complete my work successfully. His intellectual thrust and blessings motivated me to work
rigorously on this study. In fact this study could not have seen the light of the day if his
contribution had not been available. It would be no exaggeration to say that it is his
unflinching faith and unquestioning support that has provided the sustenance necessary to see
it through to its present shape.

I express my deep sincere gratitude towards my parents for their blessing, patience, and moral
support. I express my gratitude to my all teachers and friends who has supported and
encouraged me.

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 Female Foeticide

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
• TABLE OF CASES
• General Concept And History
• Difference between Female Foeticide & Female Infanticide
• Factors responsible for Female Foeticide
• Consequences of Female Foeticide
• Female Foeticide as a violation of Articles 14 and 21
• Right to life of Foetus
• Legal Provision and Acts combating Female Foeticide
• International Conventions
• Indian Law
• Indian Penal Code
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
• The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and
Prevention) Act, 1994
• Statistical data on Female Foeticide
• Sex Ratio as an Indicator
• Current Status
• Rural-Urban Child Sex Ratio
• Judicial Activism and Response
• Strategies to curb Female Foeticide
• News related to Female Foeticide
• CONCLUSION
• BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 Female Foeticide

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AIR…………………………………………………………………………..All India Reporter

ANMs………………………………………………………Auxiliary Nursing Midwives

ASHAs……………………………………………………Accredited Social Health Activities

BC………………………………………………………………………………...Before Christ

CEDAW ……Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

CEHAT………………………………………Centre for Enquiry into Health &Allied Themes

CrPC…………………………………………………………………Criminal procedure Code

CRC ……………………………………………………Convention on the Rights of the Child

CSR…………………………………………………………………………….Child Sex Ratio

DGHS……………………………………………………..Director General of Health Services

E.g...……………………………………………………………………………..example gratia

EDN..……………………………………………………………………………………Edition

I.e.,.……………………………………………………………………………….Idest (that is)

Ibid....……………………………………………………..Ibidium (in the same place or work)

Id…………………………………...……………Iden (in the same source; variation of pages)

IMA………………………………….……………………………Indian Medical Association

INOS………………………………………………………Indian Network for Organ Sharing

IPC…………………………………………………………………………..Indian Penal Code

MASUM………………………………………………...Mahila Sarvangeena Utkarsh Mandal

MTPA…………………………………………… The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act

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 Female Foeticide
NGOs….…………………………………………………...Non-Governmental Organisations

NIMC………………………………………….National Inspection &Monitoring Committee

p., pp………………………………………………………………………………..page, pages

Pg………………………………………………………………………..…………………Page

PIL……………………………………………………………………Public Interest Litigation

PGD…………………………………………………….…Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis

PC&PNDTA………………………...Pre Conception & Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act

SAARC………………………………….. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

SLSB……………………………………………………………State Level Supervisory Body

SC……………………………………………………………………………….Supreme Court

SCC………………………………………………………………………Supreme Court Cases

UK…………………………………………………………………………….United Kingdom

UOI……………………………………………………………………………...Union of India

UN………………………………………………………………………………United Nations

UNICEF……………………………United Nations International Children Emergency Fund

USA………………………………………………………………….United States of America

UT…………………………………………………………………...…………Union Territory

v……………………………………………………………………………………...…...versus

VIZ……………………………………………………………..…………..Vide licet (namely)

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 Female Foeticide

TABLE OF CASES
Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India

CEHAT and others v. Union of India

Dr. Varsha Gautam W/O Dr. Rajesh Gautam v. State of Uttar Pradesh

Griswold v. Conneticut

Kharak Singh and others v. State of Uttar Pradesh

Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India

Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth

Qualified Private Medical Practitioners and Hospitals Association v. State of Kerala

Roe v. Wade

Vijay Sharma and Another v. Union of India

Vinod Soni and Another v. Union Of India

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 Female Foeticide

GENERAL CONCEPT & HISTORY

Women who constitute half a human population have been discriminated, harassed and
exploited irrespective of the country to which they belong, unmindful of the religion which
they profess and oblivious of the timeframe in which they live. Spite of over six decades of
Independence, in spite of India making rapid progress in science, technology and other fields,
the picture that we see of India as of now is not one that can be appreciated, especially in
terms of its treatment to the fairer sex. Discrimination against girl children, parents’ neglect
of the girl child, illegal abortions and female infanticide are clear instances of this. The
practice of female foeticide, which is illegal, is still prevalent in our country. There is one
section of the Indian society which is trying its level best to be liberal in their thoughts,
although aping the Western culture. On the other hand, there is another section of the society,
in fact a large chunk of it, which is still in the clutches of orthodox views and thoughts.
Everywhere women are confronted with many challenges. Female foeticide is perhaps one of
the worst forms of violence against women where a woman is denied her most basic and
fundamental right i.e “the right to life”. The phenomenon of female foeticide in India is not
new, where female embryos or foetuses are selectively eliminated after pre-natal sex
determination, thus eliminating girl child even before they are born. As a result of selective
abortion, between 35 and 40 million girls and women are missing from the Indian population.
In some parts of the country, the sex ratio of girls to boys has dropped to less than 800:1000.
The United Nations has expressed serious concern about the situation. The long standing
tradition of son preference, coupled with medical technology now gives to the status
conscious Indian families, the choice between payment of large dowry for their daughters or
elimination of daughters. The traditional method of getting rid of the unwanted girl child was
female infanticide, where the female baby was done away with after birth in various ways –
either by poisoning the baby or letting her choke on husk or simply by crushing her skull
under a charpoy. With the advancement of medical technology sophisticated techniques can
now be used or rather misused, to get rid of her before birth. Through ultrasound scans and
amniocentesis, the sex of the foetus can be determined during the pregnancy of the woman
and then the foetus is aborted if found to be female.2 In Indian society, female foeticide has
emerged as a burning social problem during the last few years. The girl child in India is
treated right from her birth as an additional burden an extra mouth to feed, a liability and

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 Female Foeticide
another man’s property. The birth of a son is regarded as essential in Hinduism and many
prayers and lavish offerings are made in temples in the hope of having a male child. Modern
medical technology is used in the service of this religion driven devaluing of women and
girls. Woman is created par with man in all aspects. “Women have equal rights with men
upon earth; in religion and society they are a very important element. Divine Justice demands
that the rights of both sexes should be equally respected since neither is superior to the other
in the eyes of Heaven.” These authoritative statements from the Bahai’s writing are regarded
by Bahai’s as expressions of the Divine Will. To deprive women arbitrarily of there rights
and privileges, or to deprive them to even being born or killing them in infancy is both
immoral and unjust, a violation of God’s law. It has a detrimental effect on the society and
the individuals who are involved in this practice are responsible for such acts.3 But does the
Indian society accept this reality? If so why female foeticide and female infanticide are on the
increase? The sex ratio has altered consistently in favour of boys since the beginning of the
20th century, and the effect has been most pronounced in the states of Punjab, Haryana and
Delhi. It was in these states that private foetal sex determination clinics were first established
and the practice of selective abortion became popular from the late 1970s. Worryingly, the
trend is far stronger in urban rather than rural areas, and among literate rather than illiterate
women.

Ironically, it all happens in a country where the girl is seen as an incarnation of Goddess
‘Laxmi’. True, many families are out of bounds in joy when a girl child is born in their
family. They think she will bring luck, harmony, happiness and peace in their family. They
even touch her feet to seek her blessings. Many childless couples even adopt a girl child
irrespective of the worries of her future (mainly marriage).

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 Female Foeticide
HISTORY

ANCIENT HISTORY

In ancient times in all patriarchal societies the son was valued and desired more than the
daughter because he was considered a permanent economic asset for the family, since he
lived with his aged parents and did not migrate like the daughter to another family after
marriage. Rituals and practical considerations make a boy’s birth essential whereas both in
terms of rituals and practicability, a girl’s birth is seen to entail expenses and problems in
future.1It is a well-known fact that certain families in India did not like the daughters to be
added to their families. The daughters were killed immediately after their birth, by dashing
their heads with force against the stones or rocks. That system has gone but still there are
examples when for the family it is a great occasion for a son’s birth but not for a daughter’s.
Though there was mention of prayers being said for the birth of a son but no reference of
eliminating daughters at birth in the ancient Vedic period. In Vedas in case where the child in
embryo of a Brahmin woman is destroyed before the sex of the child can be ascertained the
person causing such destruction is called Vrunaha. ‘Vrunaha’ is the greatest sinner.2

According to Arumina Boneah, the practice of infanticide or the willful killing of new born
babies was widely accepted among ancient and pre-historic people as a legitimate means of
dealing with unwanted children. The same has taken the shape of foeticide with the latest
scientific and technological instruments.3Gender discrimination was strongly dictated in
Man’s Code, according to which a female is under the custody of males from womb to tomb.
According to Manu, author of ancient Hindu Moral Code, man cannot attain ‘moksha’ unless
he has a son to light his funeral pyre. A male offspring alone guarantees moksh. According to
Manu, a man “wins both worlds through a son and gains eternity through a grandson”. Manu
says a woman who gives birth to only daughters may be left in the eleventh year of the
marriage. In the patriarchal society like India greater importance is given to the male child.
The female child is not only considered a liability, but mothers who give birth to female
children only, do not get much respect in the family as compared with those who given birth
to male children.

1
singh J.P. the Indian women- myth and reality
2
Mitter D.n. the position of women in hindu law, new delhi:india publications,1984,p.66
3
baruah arunima, crimes against children, new delhi: kalpaz publications, 2002. P.9

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In Indian culture it is usual for girls and woman to eat less than men and boys and to have
their meal after the man and boys had finished eating. The boys are provided better facilities
than the girls despite the fact the daughters may prove to be more faithful and loving to their
parents and families. It is said “a son is a son until he gets a wife, but a daughter is always a
daughter”. Micro studies have shed light on the fact that sex is the main determinant of infant
nutrition irrespective of economic development. Boys are breastfed longer, given more of
wearing, foods and get a bigger share of whatever food is available.4

Female Foeticide is more rampant among Hindus (rather than Muslims or Christians)
families. Among Hindus sons are looked to as a type of insurance for providing future
income. With this perspective it becomes clearer that the high value given to male decreases
the value given to females. Again, the sons become the crutch for parents to lean on in their
old age. On the top of it, when they get married, they bring brides along with dowry. There
are historical reasons for the same. In the caste driven, Hindu society elimination of female
children was prevalent among the higher castes and it got slowly spread to other castes also.
Marriage in the Hindu fold of life is traditionally essential for procreation and the
continuation of the family life. The birth of a son is greatly desired, and the godly blessings
for the expectant mother are that she will give birth to a male child. Even the blessing
showered on the bride at the marriage ceremony is “Ashta Putra Sowbhagyavati Bhave”
(May you be blessed with eight sons). A short time after marriage, the ceremony called
Garbhandhana is performedfor the husband. It consist of an offering and a prayer to the Sun
by the husband and wife for the conception of a son. The last line of this prayer by the
husband is, “Birghayasm Vamasadharam Putramjanaya Subrate”(Oh faithful wife give
birth to a son who will live long and perpetuate our line). Three months after conception the
Pumsavana ceremony for obtaining a son is performed5. In the Atharva Veda, one of the four
most sacred texts of Hinduism, mantras are prescribed for chanting so that if by chance the
foetus is a female it will be transformed to a male. Other texts mantion that if a female child
is born it is an arista or ill-omen6.

4
Madhurima, violence against women, Dynamics of conjugal relations, new delhi: gyan publication House,
1996 p.p.84-85
5
Antoine R, ‘the hindu samskaras in Delenry” in religious Hinduism: Apresentation and Appraisal
6
Kumar Arvind, “Encyclopaedia of Human Righta, Violence and Non-violence Series-Societal Violence and
Unrest, Lucknow and New Delhi: VolumeII, published by Institute for Sustainable Developments
Developments. Anmol Publications, 19999, p.44

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WORLD HISTORY

The issue of “endangered sex” is not limited to India. Cultural preference for boys extends to
both China and the Republic of Korea as well, countries that have also had a history of being
predominantly male; and although the Republic of Korea has been successful in reversing the
gender imbalance, China continues to have a female deficit, which research says has become
worse due to their one-child policy. A United Nations Population Fund report on skewed
gender ratios states that in the Republic of Korea, “the imbalance could not have developed in
the 1980s without modern technology, coupled with son preference and declining fertility . . .
More research is needed to prove that the decrease in sex selection in Korea has been mainly
due to increase in daughter preference, policy changes and shifts in socio cultural norms.”7

In countries such as China and India, the practice of infanticide continued into the 20th
century. However, the 1970s saw a dramatic drop in the girl-to-boy ratio in India, when
abortion was legalized and ultrasound technology enabled families to determine the sex of
their child by the fourth month of pregnancy. By 2005 the ratio slipped to 814 girls for every
1,000 boys, as opposed to the natural rate of 952 girls for every 1,000 boys.

According to the British medical journal Lancet, approximately 50 million girl fetuses have
been victims of feticide in China. In India the number is estimated at 43 million.&sup2
Approximately seven million more are credited to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, and South
Korea. Because China and India account for 40% of the world's population, an imbalance in
these two countries alone has a profound impact on global population statistics.³ According to
a December 2007 UNICEF report, India is "missing" 7,000 girls per day, or 2.5 million each
year.

INDIAN HISTORY

Girls have been eliminated in India for centuries. In the past getting rid of girls was harder
and was accomplished after birth by strangling the infant girl, also known as female
infanticide. During British rule over India in the 19th century, however, female infanticide
was recognized as a social evil and was outlawed by the Female Infanticide Prevention Act of
1870. There have also been instances where sex of the fetus is determined before birth and
the pregnant woman is beaten with blows to her stomach so that the female fetus doesn’t
survive.

7
UNFPA Report, 2011

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 Female Foeticide
This latest phenomenon became possible primarily through the misuse of ultrasound
technology. Ultrasound technology was a major breakthrough in medical imaging in the
1980’s and it also led to major developments in obstetrics and gynecology. It was intended to
expedite the process of fixing issues by allowing doctors to visualize the fetus and detect
abnormalities, including severe neurological disorders. Certain fetal abnormalities do not
surface entirely until later in pregnancy, primarily between late first trimester and early
second trimester. In such situations when fetal abnormalities can potentially threaten the life
of a pregnant patient or the developing fetus, the patient may decide to abort the pregnancy.
Feticide is one of the procedures used to terminate such a pregnancy. In medical literature,
the term is used neutrally “as if it were unproblematic”8.

A newly born girl child was a subject of embarrassment and she was buried alive in order to
avoid disgrace of having a female child, one out of every ten men was guilty of this crime.
Not only men, but women also participated in the act. Mothers handed over their girl child for
burial. These practices are continued in today’s modern world in the form of female feticide.
According to a World Children’s Report by UNICEF, boys are outnumbering girls in India,
there are only 882 girls per 1000 boys in India It also reveals the global sex ratio of 954 girls
to 1000 boys. The drop in female birth rate is due to female feticide.

The combination of a strong cultural preference for boys and pre-natal ultrasound imaging
has led to couples identifying and aborting female fetuses so that their only permitted child is
male.

8
Graham, Robson, Rankin, 2007

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 Female Foeticide

CAUSES AND AFFECTS

In Chapter III, I have discussed the difference between female foeticide and female
infanticide in brief. I have also discussed the factors responsible for female foeticide and its
consequences.

“Daughter, Sister, Friend, Wife, Mother

When You Kill a Girl, You Kill Many Other”

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FEMALE FOETICIDE AND FEMALE

INFANTICIDE:

Female foeticide is aborting the female baby in the mothers womb. Whereas female
infanticide is killing a baby girl after she is being born. The practice of killing the female
child after her birth has been prevailing in our society for many years. But foeticide is the
legacy and contribution of the progress made by the medical science. Amniocentesis was
introduced in 1975 to detect foetal abnormalities but it soon began to be used for determining
the sex of the baby. Ultrasound scanning, being a non-invasive technique, quickly gained
popularity and is now available in some of the most remote rural areas. Both techniques are
now being used for sex determination with the intention of abortion if the foetus turns out to
be female. With the advent of privatization and commercialization, the use of pre-natal
diagnostic technologies is growing into a thriving business in India. This is primarily for the
purpose of sex determination selective abortion of the female foetus. The misuse of
technology simply reinforces the secondary status given to girl children in such a way that
they are culled out even before they are born9. Compared to infanticide, foeticide is probably
a more acceptable means of disposing off the unwanted girl children. Infanticide can be an
overtly barbaric and inhuman practice while foeticide that is carried out by skilled
professionals is a medical practice that uses scientific techniques and skills and reduces the
guilt factor associated with the entire exercise.

Many people groups, both eastern and western, have a history of infanticide. For thousands of
years, parents have exterminated baby girls by poisoning, strangling, or burying them alive.
This practice decreased in the Greco-Roman world as Christianity flourished¹ and is nearly
non-existent in the West today.

9
Meenu Anand, “Indian Legal Framework to Arrest Female Foeticide” Legal News & Views, September 2005

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FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR FEMALE FOETICIDE:

Three deadliest words- “IT’S A GIRL”

The low status of Indian women coupled with the traditional gender bias has an adverse
bearing on the child sex ratio. As a result her health, nutrition and education have been
neglected. In the Vedic Age: 1500-1000 BC, women in India were worshipped as goddesses.
However, with the passage of time, the Muslim age 1026-1756 AD witnessed a sharp decline
in their status and in the British regime they were looked down upon as 'slaves of slaves'10.
Female feticide isn't common only among poor families. Aborting a female fetus is
increasingly becoming a life style choice among the rich as well. The practice of dowry is
widely prevalent even in communities and castes in which it had never been known before.
As a result, daughters are considered to be an economic liability. Over the past few decades,
the problem of dowry has acquired alarming proportions giving rise to innumerable socio-
economic problems of far reaching consequences such as bride burning, physical harassment,
cruelty and torture. In India an average of five women a day are burned in dowry related
disputes and many cases are never reported. In the South Indian communities they believe
that 'Bringing up a girl is like watering a neighbor's plant'11. The bias against females in India
is related to the fact that "Sons are called upon to provide the income; they are the ones who
do most of the work in the fields." In this way sons are looked to as a type of insurance. Thus,
it becomes clearer that the high value given to males decreases the value given to females. In
a patriarchal society, "preservation" of the family name in the forthcoming generations is the
main cause of concern. Also Hinduism allows only a son or male relative to light the father's
pyre.

• Male Children are a Better Investment: The main reason is the idea that the male
offspring will better support the family. Since sons are seen as the main source of
income, even though today, women have many career options, the common
misconception still remains that it is the male who will help run the house and look
after his parents, while women are viewed as being like cargo, something to be
shipped off to another household. A boy shall grow up to be the head of the family,
and he shall offer a sense of security to his aging parents – take care of them, serve

10
Sharma BR and Gupta M. Gender based violence in India a never-ending phenomenon. J lnt. Women's
Studies. 2004; 6 (1): 114- 123
11
Victims of dowry available at www.un.org.rights

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 Female Foeticide
them and take over the responsibility of running the family. He shall also continue the
name of the family (whereas, the girl shall take up her husband’s last name). A male
is considered to be a producer, whereas a female is considered to be a consumer. All
this is mainly due to the patriarchal form of the Indian society. One simple
assumption that can be made is that this preference is based on the form of society and
families, a couple of decades back. Back then, a male was expected to work and earn,
whereas a female was supposed to sit at home, cook, and manage the house and
children. This made a male child desirable, as he was, then, the only source of income
and respect. This system was abolished today, females work nearly as much as men –
but the thinking remained unchanged.
• Female Children Are a Gamble: In India, the age-old dowry system puts a damper
on the spirits of those who are blessed with a girl child. When a girl is born, the
parents begin to calculate the expense of her future marriage, the lump sum that will
paid to the future groom's family. They worry that currency may depreciate and
inflation may skyrocket. Because of this, the birth of a girl is seen as a tragedy waiting
to happen. Dowry is the money, goods and/or property a woman brings into a
marriage. It is basically a payment done by the bride’s family to the groom’s family
during marriage. Reasons for dowry include provision of “base funds” for the
husband to start a new family, establish his household and to feed and protect the
family. Another reason is to support the woman and her children, if the husband were
to die – especially since women have a better average life-expectancy than men.
However, in most cases, dowry is seen to be payment to the groom’s family, for
accepting the woman, and for taking responsibility for her there on.

Dowry is very common in South-Asian countries like India. In India, expected dowries are
huge – hundreds of thousands in cash, car(s), some property. It is well beyond the capacity of
many families to afford this, especially in rural areas (where the expectancy remains the
same). Dowry is illegal in India, but this has not stopped families all over the nation from
giving (trying) and accepting it. Also, in most cases, the bride’s family is expected to arrange
and sponsor the wedding – and Indian wedding are rightly nicknamed: Big-Fat-Indian-
Wedding, pointing to the immense amount of effort, money, and glamour put in. Therefore,
the birth of a female child indicates huge amounts of expenditure later in her life, when she
shall be married – which incidentally, is considered the most important time of a woman’s
life. Couples do not wish to have such financial burdens on them – loans and debts, for

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 Female Foeticide
example: which most dowries force – which is why they do not want a girl, to spare them
from such huge monetary requirements. This is prevalent to such an extent, that many small
clinics that perform illegal sex-determination tests and help couples abort female foetuses,
advertise using the slogan, “500 now, or 5,00,000 later” – the former indicating the price of
an abortion, and the latter that of the dowry.

• Women Don't Have Status in Society: Various Goddesses and their avatars are
being worshipped in India, but along with killing a female foetus, devaluing women
through other crimes like rape, adultery etc is also carried on. A daughter is
considered to be an auspicious sign of Goddess Laxmi but at the same time there are
many families who kill the female foetus only because they want a male child to free
them from all the sins after their death. As a result of institutional and cultural sexism,
female children and adults have less power, status, rights, and money. Even as adults,
it's harder for females to take care of or make decisions for themselves. Centuries of
repression have made inferiority second nature to most women who have been taught
the role of the meek, submissive, docile wife who works relentlessly to cater to the
whims of her husband. Female feticide often happens with the explicit consent of the
mother. Even the mothers-to-be agree to this misdeed out of an inherited cultural bias
and a sense of duty to the family.
• Foul Medical Ethics. With the legalization of abortion in India, illegal sex
determination and termination of pregnancies have become everyday realities.
Professionals in the medical field are only too glad to help parents realize their dream
of a healthy baby boy. Female feticide is openly discussed in the medical profession
and many pin boards outside clinics have advertisements for abortion that read, "Pay
Rs. 500 [$10 US] today to save the expense of Rs. 500 000 [$10,000 US] in the
future." The cost of an abortion is nothing compared to the expense of having a child,
especially a girl. Advances in technologies, especially ultra-sonography are now
conveniently available at the "clinic next door", with the woman's family willing to
dish out any amount that is demanded Strengthening the existing laws: Though most
of them. The sex of a fetus can be determined laws are made in India with great
fervor, their within 13 to 14 weeks of pregnancy by trans- execution is the main issue.
Violations of the vaginal sonography and by 14 to 16 weeks PNDT Act carry a five
year jail term and a fine as through abdominal ultrasound. These methods well;
however, while 23 cases have been have rendered sex determination cheap and easy.

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 Female Foeticide
Registered under the Act so far, no one has been Pre conception techniques such as
the Ericsson convicted 15. The reason why the law has proved method which
separates the X and Y- ineffective is because it is difficult to regulate all
chromosomes from the sperm and then injects clinics that use ultrasound for sex
determination back only the Y chromosome into the womb to as well as for a host of
other purposes including ensure a boy, costs Rs15, 000 to 20,000. Yet detection of
genetic abnormalities in the fetus. Another technique known as the Pre-implantation.
While the law seeks to punish sex determination, Pre-Genetic Diagnosis(PGD)helps
to determine the it is rendered ineffective because of the liberal sex of even an
unrecognizable fetus. One or two MTP Act which allows abortion on the ground of
cells are removed from an 8-10 celled embryo as mental trauma. Even though the
blatant hoardings early as three days after fertilization and is then re-implanted into
the uterus. Its cost-Rs100,000 per treatment cycle which is out of reach of the
common man's pocket. A case study on the attitudes of Punjabi women towards
female feticide has shown that almost three-fourths of Punjabi women are aware of
the technology to determine the sex of the fetus while among those who are aware of
sex pre-selection procedures, 23 percent approved of the practice of aborting
unwanted female fetuses12. The easy availability of mobile scanning machines means
doctors are now doing brisk business in rural areas. It has been estimated that there
are 25,770 officially registered pre-natal units in lndia". Nobody reports the
unqualified technicians because it is not in their interest to do so. Even the qualified
doctors in registered clinics have ways of violating the law against using ultrasound
tests to determine the sex of the fetus. If the ultrasound test shows a male fetus in the
womb the doctor simply tells the nurse: 'I think this calls for sweets,' a well-known
code to mean 'Good news, it's a boy'. No documentation - the so-called paperwork is
done, so there is no evidence of illegal practices. For those involved in this racket, it is
a lucrative source of income, with a private doctor charging as much as Rs 5000 for
an abortion. The wider availability of technology in urban areas accounts for the
lower child sex ratio compared with rural areas.
• Religion: According to Hindu scriptures, it is a male who’ll light the funeral pyre of
his dead parent(s). He is required for the performance of the last rites when his parents
are laid to rest after death.

12
Surender S, Rao Rand Niranjan S. Attitude towards Female Feticide: Does it Influence the Survival Status of
Female Children? IASSI Quarterly 1997; 16:106-114

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 Female Foeticide
• Illiteracy: It is assumed that people are illiterate and not educated, and hence they
commit this heinous act. However, logical as it may sound, this cannot be safely
established.
• Safety: Another reason for the unwanted status of the female child is the burden on
her parents regarding her safety. Incidences of girls subjected to rape, molesting,
sexual abuse, domestic violence, trafficking, etc. are growing every day, and parents
don’t want to risk their girl child’s safety (with a male child, such things aren’t a
worry).. A daughter will have to be protected all the time and cannot be left alone,
even when she is at home. If anything untoward happens to the daughter, the family is
disgraced, even though the fault may not be of the girl or her family.
• Industrial Growth: Industrialization of the health sector has further established the
practice of sex selective abortion. With the advent of CVS, amniocentesis, and
ultrasound, sex determination of the fetus has become much easier. These
manufacturers of high-tech equipment and gadgets benefit from the preference for
male children. Many hospitals are known to sign long-term contracts with the firms
involved in the production of these types of machines. Often, a healthy percentage of
the profit is shared with the hospital, and both parties enjoy the fruits of rewarding a
death sentence.

CONSEQEUENCES OF FEMALE FOETICIDE

• Women's health: There are women who have to undergo numerous abortions in
hopes of getting a son at the risk of not being able to conceive again. They have even
higher chances of being abused and abandoned by their husbands and families once
they cannot conceive and haven't even produced a son. Some women don't have the
financial means to consult qualified physicians, so they settle for quacks who are
available in plenty, and thus endanger their health immensely. There are reports of
these quacks prescribing testosterone to women who want a male child resulting in
increase in cases of cancer among women and the birth of eunuchs. In addition to
that, emotional and mental strain that a woman goes through is not considered
important at all. She is left alone to suffer.
• Women being trafficked: Stories of women being bought from the poor regions of
the country for men who can't find themselves brides in the affluent parts affected by
adverse sex-ratio are already making news. There are also news of women being

18

 Female Foeticide
bought and abandoned or sent to another man once they have produced a son. Long
distance brides are being bought from a completely different culture and are forced to
adjust to their new homes with new culture, new language, and far away from their
families.
According to the statistics, nearly 10 million female foetuses have been aborted in the
country over the past two decades. Of the 12 million girls born in India, one million
do not see their first birthdays.
As a result, human trafficking has become common in various states of India where
teenage girls are being sold for cheap money by poor families. The girls are treated as
sex objects and more than half of such cases go unreported.
• Women being abused and sexually exploited: Although it is invariably happening
already, incidences of young girls (children) as well as older women being raped and
forced into polygamy are to see a leap in numbers if the current trends of mass
extinction of the female gender continues at the same pace.
• Suicide rates in women will increase: Their psychological health will suffer. Their
physical health will suffer. In short, the female gender is doomed if we don't do
anything about fixing the problem we have at hand.
• Violence amongst men: With a lack of proper family institution at home, men are
bound to resort to aggressive means to expend their energy when they are not busy
making money or beating women they bought because they couldn't give them sons in
the first go.13
• Increase in crime rates: The suppressed feelings of the unmarried middle-aged men
make them mentally prone to perversions including abuse of children and violence
against women. This, in turn, results in a spurt in crimes, especially sexual crimes,
making women and children afraid to go out of their homes and move about in the
society. According to official crime statistics, rape cases of children rose from 5368
in 2009 to 5484 in 2010 and kidnapping and abduction cases rose from 10670 in 2010
to 15284 in 2011.
• Other consequences of this decreasing trend in child and youth sex ratios. Our
traditional values of marriage, family life and morality are forsaken for the exigencies
of life. The social institution of marriage is no more a life-long relationship forged
between two consenting individuals of matching social and family backgrounds. It has

13
http://unwantedgirlchild.blogspot.in/

19

 Female Foeticide
turned into a commercial activity of buying brides from economically backward
communities. The purchase of minor girls, classified as ‘Procuration of Minor Girls’
in crime statistics, is increasing by leaps and bounds as shown by crime statistics.
The cases registered in this category rose from 237 in 2009 to 679 in 2010 and 862 in
2011.
As the reduction in Child Sex Ratio continues and this ratio turns into Adult Sex
Ratio, there will be complete socio-economic chaos within a decade. Female
foeticide, which has been termed rightly as demographic terrorism, leading to ‘bride
drought’ will be the greatest hurdle in the path of progress for our nation.14

14
http://fight4thefoetus.blogspot.in/)

20

 Female Foeticide

LEGAL BACKGROUND
In this chapter, the laws and acts related to female foeticide have been discussed. The rights
of foetus have also been discussed and how it violates Articles 14 and 21 of constitution. The
legal provisions under Indian Penal Code, International law, The Medical Termination of
Pregnancy Act, 1971 and Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation
and Prevention) Act, 1994 have also been discussed which provide laws for combating
female foeticide.

“Oh, God, I beg of you,

I touch your feet time and again,

Next birth don't give me a daughter,

Give me Hell instead...”

-An old Folk Song from Uttar Pradesh

Female Foeticide as a violation of Article 14 and 2115

Our Constitution provides for the Right to Equality under Article 14 and right to live with
dignity under Article 21.

Article 14 guarantees that all people shall be equally protected by the laws of the country.

Article 21 says that no citizen can be denied his life and liberty except by law.

Sex – detection tests violate both these rights. Right to life is a well established right and is
recognized by various international instruments. Now the question is, Does a foetus enjoy
this right ? We do not have a definite answer. But the embryo in the womb can be defined as
a citizen of India. If it is considered that life begins after the union of the male sperm and
fertilised egg and the fusion of the nuclei to form a zygote, birth has been given to a new
person, a citizen, at that very moment, because the zygote shows ‘organization, movement,
growth, reproduction and adaptation at the molecular level’, as defined in Dorland’s
Illustrated Medical Dictionary that has worldwide acceptance as an authoritative reference
book. In that case, foeticide is homicide or murder of a person and should be treated a crime.
Globally, Constitutions recognize the sanctity of life, yet have failed to adequately protect the

15
Constitution of India

21

 Female Foeticide
life of foetus. Judicial pronouncements are also not conclusive and vary in different
jurisdictions. In India the right to life is guaranteed to every person under the Constitution of
India. The concept of personhood complicates the position of legal status of foetus. Often
courts shy from answering this question due to complex issues that arise in determining this
question – like when does foetus attain personhood? This question is baffling the courts
worldwide. There is a desperate need for the courts to come clear on this vital issue and
recognize the rights of the foetus.16 In India, Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the life
and liberty of every person. But it is doubtful if this would include the life of foetus as the
meaning is restricted by the use of the word person. The Indian Constitution has recognized
the right to life under Article 21 as also recognized in several cases.19 But this is hardly
available to the unwanted girl child.

RIGHT TO LIFE OF FOETUS

• Right to be born and not to be aborted only because she is a girl.

• Right to remain alive after birth and not to be killed at any moment after birth.
• Right of the girl child to her mind her body
• right to childhood and
• right to a healthy family environment.

However there are a number of statutes that indirectly provide protection to the life of foetus.
The Indian penal code under various provisions makes causing miscarriage an offence.17 In
Bandhua Mukti Morcha vrs Union of India,18 the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that “it is a
fundamental right of everyone in this country assured under the interpretation of Article 21 to
live with human dignity… it must include the tender age of children to develop in a healthy
manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act
1971 provides for limited and restricted right to terminate the pregnancy, when the life of the
mother is at stake or there is a substantial risk to the life of the child.19 What is to be noted
here is that the MTPAct 1971, does not recognize the right of the mother to abort, this right to
decide on termination of pregnancy vests with a registered medical practitioner.20 Further

16
Prasanth S.J. “Right to Life of Foetus” AIR Vol. 92, Part 1098, June’2005
17
The Indian penal code chapter 18 (offences affecting the human body) in part two section 312 to 318 deals
with the offences relating to miscarriage or injuries to the unborn child of exposure to the infants and
concealment of birth.
18
AIR 1984 SC 802
19
MTPA 1971 section 3 (2)
20
ibid

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 Female Foeticide
some states in India have made special legislations to confer special protection to the life of
foetuses. The Nuclear Installations Act, 1965 recognises liability for compensation in respect
of injury or damage caused to an unborn child by the occurrence involving nuclear matter or
the emission of ionizing radiation.21 The code of Criminal Procedure under Section 416
mandates that the High Court shall order of execution of capital sentences on a pregnant
woman be postponed or it may commute the sentence to imprisonment for life, thereby
indirectly recognizing the right to life of foetus.22 It is only an escapist view to deny the right
to life to a foetus saying it is not a person. The state is evading the crucial issue of right to life
of a foetus by giving such frivolous reasons, although it indirectly recognizes this right
through criminal statutes and also recognizes that an unborn can enjoy certain interests in
property.23 In the light of the discussion above it is agreed that foetus should enjoy the right
to life. The foetus should be recognized as a separate entity enjoying distinct legal right and is
not a part of the mother. The concept of personhood is a myth and a mere creation of law.
This legal fiction must not come in the way of conferring rights to the foetus. Failure to
recognize the rights on the foetus would amount to discrimination thereby violating the right
to equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.24

LEGAL PROVISIONS AND ACTS COMBATING FEMALE

FOETICIDE

INTERNATIONAL LAW25
• Article 25(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 says that
motherhood and childhood are entitled for special care, protection and assistance.
• Principle 2 of United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 1959 says that
Child shall enjoy special protection and shall be given opportunities and facilities to
develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a normal and healthy
manner with freedom and dignity.
• Principle 4 of United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 1959 says that
Child shall enjoy the benefits of social security.

21
Ramaswami, G. Basic Right of the child – Born and unborn AIR, 2002, Journal Section, P141
22
Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 section 416
23
The transfer of property Act, 1882, Sec. 20.
24
Supra 4.
25
: http://www.lawnotes.in/Rights_of_Unborn_Child#ixzz3qJpfyVo5

23

 Female Foeticide
• Article 10(2) of International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
1966 says mothers are entitled for special protection during reasonable period before
and after childbirth.
• Article 11(2)(d) of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination says that mothers should be provided with special protection during
pregnancy at work from anything harmful to them.
• Article 12(2) deals with provision of appropriate services and nutrition to women
during pregnancy.
• Article 6(1) of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 says that
every child has the inherent Right to Life.
• UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights adopted the
Plan of Action and issued a Resolution in 2005 calling for additional action to combat
harmful practices. Resolution 2005/28 on Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the
Health of Women and the Girl Child.

INDIAN LAW
a) INDIAN PENAL CODE :
Sections 312-316 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deal with miscarriage and death of
an unborn child and depending on the severity and intention with which the crime is
committed, the penalties range from seven years to life imprisonment i.e., fourteen
years and fine.
Section 312- Causing miscarriage Whoever voluntarily causes a woman with child to
miscarry, shall, if such miscarriage be not caused in good faith for the purpose of
saving the life of the woman, be punished with imprisonment of either description for
a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both, and, if the woman
be quick with child, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation: A woman who causes herself to miscarry, is within the meaning of this
section.
Section 313- Causing miscarriage without woman's consent
Whoever commits the offence defined in the last preceding section without the
consent of the woman, whether the woman is quick with child or not, shall be

24

 Female Foeticide
punished with [imprisonment for life] or with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 314- Death caused by act done with intent to cause miscarriage
Whoever, with intent to cause the miscarriage of woman with child, does any act
which causes the death of such woman, shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. If act
done without woman's consent: And if the act is done without the consent of the
woman, shall be punished either with [imprisonment for life] or with the punishment
above mentioned. Explanation: It is not essential to this offence that the offender
should know that the act is likely to cause death.
Section 315- Act done with intent to prevent child being born alive or to cause it to
die after birth.
Whoever before the birth of any child does any act with the intention of thereby
preventing that child from being born alive or causing it to die after its birth, and does
by such prevent that child from being born alive, or causes it to die after its birth,
shall, if such act be not caused in good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the
mother, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to ten years, or with fine, or with both.
Section 316- Causing death of quick unborn child by act amounting to culpable
homicide Whoever does any act under such circumstances, that if he thereby caused
death he would be guilty of culpable homicide, and does by such act cause the death
of a quick unborn child, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for
a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Illustration- A, knowing that he is likely to cause the death of a pregnant woman,
does an act which, if it caused the death of the woman, would amount to culpable
homicide. The woman is injured, but does not die, but the death of an unborn quick
child with which she is pregnant is thereby caused. A is guilty of the offence defined
in this section.
Until 1970 the provisions contained in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) governed the law
on abortion. The Indian Penal Code 1860 permitted ‘legal abortions’ did without
criminal intent and in good faith for the express purpose of saving the life of the
mother. Liberalisation of abortion laws was also advocated as one of the measures of
population control.

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 Female Foeticide
b) THE MEDICAL TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY ACT, 1971
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act was passed in July 1971, which came into
force in April 1972. This law was conceived as a tool to let the pregnant women
decide on the number and frequency of children. It further gave them the right to
decide on having or not having the child. The Act states that abortion is legal only
under certain conditions and the decision has to be taken by a registered medical
practitioner in the case pregnancy up to 12 weeks and two registered medical
practitioners in the case of pregnancy from 12 to 20 weeks. No abortion is allowed
after 20 weeks. The medical practitioner/s must form their opinion in good faith that
the continuation of the pregnancy will expose the pregnant woman to risk her life or
be subject to grave physical or mental health risks or that the child will suffer from
severe physical or mental abnormalities. Lunatics and minors below 18 are allowed to
terminate pregnancy with the permission of their guardian. The reasons included as
‘exposing the pregnant woman to severe physical or mental health risks’ include
pregnancy resulting from rape and pregnancy induced by the failure of any
contraceptive device or technique used by a married couple. However, this good
intentioned step was being used to force women to abort the female child. In order to
do away with lacunae inherent in previous legislation, the Prenatal Diagnostic
Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act had to be passed in 1994,
which came into force in January 1996. The Act prohibited determination of sex of
the foetus and stated punishment for the violation of the provisions. It also provided
for mandatory registration of genetic counselling centres, clinics, hospitals, nursing
homes, etc.
Thus both these laws were meant to protect the childbearing function of the woman
and legitimise the purpose for which prenatal tests and abortions could be carried out.
However, in practice we find that these provisions have been misused and are proving
against the interest of the females.

c) THE PRECONCEPTION AND PRENATAL DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES

(REGULATION AND PREVENTION OF MISUSE) ACT, 1994
To combat the practice of female foeticide in the country through misuse of
technology, done surreptitiously with the active connivance of the service providers
and the persons seeking such service, the Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation

26

 Female Foeticide
and Prevention of Misuse) Act was enacted on September 20, 1994 by the
Government of India. The Act was amended in 2003 to improve regulation of
technology capable of sex selection and to arrest the decline in the child sex ratio as
revealed by the Census 2001 and with effect from 14.02.2003, due to the
amendments, the Act is known as the Preconception and Prenatal Diagnostic
Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994.
Its Purpose
The main purpose of enacting the PC&PNDT (prohibition of Sex Selection) Act,
1994 has been to:
i) Ban the use of sex selection techniques before or after conception
ii) Prevent the misuse of prenatal diagnostic techniques for sex selective
abortions
iii) Regulate such techniques Stringent punishments have been prescribed under
the Act for using preconception and prenatal diagnostic techniques to illegally
determine the sex of the foetus.

Authorities Empowered and pertinent as well as important provisions

# The appropriate Authorities at the District and State levels are empowered to
search, seize and seal the machines, equipments and records of the violators.

# The sale of certain diagnostic equipment is restricted only to the bodies registered
under the Act.

# The Government has also taken various steps to support implementation of the
legislation, including through constitution of a National Inspection & Monitoring
Committee (NIMC), Central and State

# Supervisory Boards, capacity building of implementing agencies, including the

judiciary and public prosecutors and community awareness generation through PRIs
and community health workers such as

# Auxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANMs) and Accredited Social Health Activists

(ASHAs).

# The Act has a central and state level Supervisory Board, an Appropriate Authority,
and supporting Advisory Committee. The function of the Supervisory Board is to

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 Female Foeticide
oversee, monitor, and make amendments to the provisions of the Act. Appropriate
Authority provides registration, and conducts the administrative work involved in
inspection, investigation, and the penalizing of defaulters. The Advisory Committee
provides expert and technical support to the Appropriate Authority.

# Sec. 6 of the said Act, clearly says that determination of sex is prohibited.

# Sec. 22 prohibits advertisements relating to prenatal determination of sex and

punishment for contravention.

# Sec. 23 (3) of the said Act, lays down that any person who seeks the aid of a genetic
counseling centre, a genetic laboratory or a genetic clinic, or of a medical geneticist,
gynecologist or registered medical practitioner, for applying prenatal diagnostic
techniques on any pregnant women (unless there is evidence she was compelled to
undergo such diagnostic techniques) for purposes other than those specified, shall be
punishable with imprisonment for a term that may extend to 3 years and with a fine
which may extend to Rs.10,000 and any subsequent conviction may involve
imprisonment which may extend to 5 years and a fine of up to Rs.50,000.

# Before conducting any prenatal diagnostic procedure, the medical practitioner must
obtain a written consent from the pregnant woman in a local language that she
understands.

# Prenatal tests may be performed in various specified circumstances, including risk

of chromosomal abnormalities in the case of women over 35, and genetic diseases
evident in the family history of the couple.

With the advent of technology, ultrasound techniques gained widespread use in India during
the 1990s. It resulted in the foetal sex determination and sex selective abortion by medical
professionals. Recently, incidences of female foeticide were reported from Beed district in
Maharashtra where women used to come to a doctor’s clinic to get their female child aborted
for Rs 2000. Just think for a moment about the doctor’s connivance in this illegal act.
Doctors, whose aim is to save the lives of people, happily kill the foetus for a meagre two
thousand bucks! And more heart wrenching is the fact that the aborted foetuses were very
often fed to dogs.

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 Female Foeticide
The above mentioned case is not the only one of such heart wrenching heinous crimes. There
are thousands of such clinics where illegal activities are carried out on a daily basis and in
some cases, in connivance with politicians and police men.

The life transition from a female foetus to a school going girl to a caring woman is never an
easy task for the fairer sex. She has to face challenges at every step of her life. Daily, there is
news related to rape, sexual harassment, molestation, verbal abuse, torture, exploitation. She
has to fight against gender indiscrimination, inequality, and hundreds of social norms are
tagged with her the day she puts her steps outside her home.

In most of the cases, women abort their female child involuntarily when they succumb to
family pressures. The in-laws’ illogical demand/ desire for a boy preference makes the life of
women hell. Sometimes, she is left by her husband if she is unable to give birth to a child and
worse happens when she conceives a girl child.

In such a grim scenario, it’s really difficult to digest the harsh reality of the differences
between a boy and a girl. India has a deeply rooted patriarchal attitude to which even the
doctors and the women, who in spite of being the victims, unthinkingly subscribe. There is an
urgent need of undoing the historical and traditional wrongs of a gendered society; only then
the hope of abolition of female infanticide and boy preference can positively adjust the
figures in favour of the girl child in future. The skewed sex ratio has to find a balance in order
to maintain the progress of the country.

29

 Female Foeticide

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the statistical data providing the Child Sex Ratio and the Sex Ratio of all ages
have been discussed through graphs. Comparative study of Census 1991, 2001 and 2011 have
been done through graphs only and the data has been collected from Census only. Rural-
Urban comparative analysis of CSR have also been done.

STATISTICAL DATA ON FEMALE FOETICIDE

Sex ratio as an indicator

Child sex ratio means number of girl children per 1000 male children in the age group 0-6
years. While the size of child population in the age group (0-6 years) is declining with decline
in the share of children in the total population, the share of girls in 0-6 years is declining
faster than that of boys of 0-6 years. This process has led to missing of nearly 3 million girl
children compared to 2 million missing boy children in 2011, compared to 2001. There are
now 48 fewer girls per 1,000 boys than there were in 1981. Though, the overall sex ratio of
the Country is showing a trend of improvement, the child sex ratio is showing a declining
trend, which is a matter of concern. During the period 1991 -2011, child sex ratio has
declined from 945 to 914, whereas the overall sex ratio showed an improvement from 927 to
940. Compared to 2001, only 5 States /UTs showed decline in overall sex ratio in 2011, while
27 States /UTs showed decline in child sex ratio during this period. This opposite direction in
the movement of sex ratios of children aged 0-6 years compared to the overall sex ratio
suggests a shift in the demographic composition of the population. The decadal decline in
child sex ratio (number of girl children per 1000 male children in the age group 0-6 years) ,
however, is less steep from that of the previous decade (1991 to 2001). In 1991, it was 945
and fell to 927 in 2001, a fall of 18 points (1.9%). In 2011, it has fallen to 914, a fall of 13
points (1.4%).

As far as female infanticide and foeticide in India is concerned up to 50 million girls are
thought to be "missing" over the past century due to female infanticide and foeticide
according to the U.N. Population Fund. According to the report this problem is creating
gender imbalances and other serious problems that experts say will have far reaching
consequences for years to come.

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 Female Foeticide
The United Nations’ World Population Fund indicated that India has one of the highest sex
imbalances in the world. Not surprisingly, demographers warn that there will be a shortage of
brides in the next 20 years because of the adverse juvenile sex ratio, combined with an
overall decline in fertility.

Current status in India

For 50 years, from 1960-2011, fewer and fewer girls were allowed to be born in India.
This situation, what I refer to as gendered arrangement, is old and commonly
misunderstood. In India, there are “about 7.1 million fewer girls than boys aged 0-6
years.” This is due to “prenatal sex determination with subsequent selective abortion
of female fetuses”. 26 Data from the 2011 population census, provided by the Office of
the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs,
also proves this. There are 914 girls per 1000 boys between the ages of 0 and 6. Future
estimates paint a grim picture of the imbalanced demographic slide, the effects of
which, research estimates, will spill beyond India.

In 1990, Nobel Laureate and economist Amartya Sen alerted the world to the
phenomenon of “missing women.” He said that more than 100 million women were
missing from the world, which challenged the commonly held belief that women make
up fifty percent of the world’s population. Such a view is a generalization of the fact
that there is a relatively higher number of women compared to men in Europe and
North America. For a majority of the world, however, and especially in South Asia,
the gender ratio favors men over women 27. Women in these parts of the world are
considered “missing” in the sense that they aren’t allowed to be born.

For the first time in 64 years (1947-2011), the number of girls (0-6 years) in India has
dropped down to 914 per 1000 boys (2011 Population Census of India). Researchers
suggest that in India “there are about 400,000 sex selective abortions per year”
(Skewed Sex Ratios at Birth, UNFPA, 2012), which is roughly equal to the entire
estimated population of Oakland, California in 2012 (US Census Bureau). This fact
relates to the more recent development in India, which is to eliminate girls even
before birth.

26
Jha et.al, 2011
27
Sen, 1990

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 Female Foeticide
This latest phenomenon became possible primarily through the misuse of ultrasound
technology. Ultrasound technology was a major breakthrough in medical imaging in
the 1980’s and it also led to major developments in obstetrics and gynecology. It was
intended to expedite the process of fixing issues by allowing doctors to visualize the
fetus and detect abnormalities, including severe neurological disorders. Certain fetal
abnormalities do not surface entirely until later in pregnancy, primarily between late
first trimester and early second trimester. In such situations when fetal abnormalities
can potentially threaten the life of a pregnant patient or the developing fetus, the
patient may decide to abort the pregnancy. Feticide is one of the procedures used to
terminate such a pregnancy. In medical literature, the term is used neutrally “as if it
were unproblematic”28.

In India, the use of ultrasound has become something more precarious than a
technique used to perform neutral feticides. It is largely used to determine the sex of a
fetus so that the pregnancy can be terminated if the fetus is female. In academic
discussions, “sex selective abortion” is a term used to refer to the abortion of a female
fetus. “UNICEF reported that 43 million of the estimated 100 million women world-
wide who would have been born if not for extraneous circumstances, including
gender-specific abortion, would have been Indian”29 . So, about half of the missing
female population is from India, a country that is roughly one-third the size of the
United States but that has three times as many people.

28
Graham, Robson, Rankin, 2007
29
Frontline PBS, 2007

32

 Female Foeticide

990
980
976
970
964 962
960
950
945
940 941 940 0-6 years
934 933 all ages
930 930
927 927
920
914
910
900
890
880
1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011

Just look at the Census figures of 2011. While there was, in the ten years preceding, an
increase of 181 million in the total population, there was a decrease of 5.05 million in the
number of children aged between 0 and 6 years. What is more surprising is that the reduction
in the number of male children was just over two million (2.06 to be exact) while the
reduction in female children was almost three million (2.99). The crux of the problem is that
Child Sex Ratio, the number of girls for every 1000 boys, aged below 6 years, which stood at
976 in 1961 fell to 945 in 1991, 927 in 2001 and 914 in 2011.

It was the Census of 1991 that first sounded the alarm showing that several states in India,
especially in the North-West region, were dangerously close to a social disaster. Punjab with
875 girl children for every 1000 boy children in the age group of 0 to 6, Haryana with 879,
Chandigarh with 899, Delhi with 915, Uttar Pradesh with 927, Gujarat with 928, Uttarakhand
with 949 and Himachal Pradesh with 951 were the States at the bottom of the scale in child
sex ratio. Then, the figures for Census of 2001 came to light. Punjab which had 875 girls for
every 1000 boys, just a decade ago, had only 798 in 2001. Haryana had lost 60 and stood at
819. Figures for Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were also below 900,
having 845,868, 883 and 896 respectively. This Census also shocked social observers by

33

 Female Foeticide
exposing that the child sex ratio in 122,517 villages was less than 800 and that in 690 cities it
stood at less than 850.

A total of 132 cases of foeticide were reported in 2011, of which the highest number
registered from Madhya Pradesh, followed by Chattisgarh and Punjab and these States
together reported 56% of the total Foeticide registered in 2011 in the Country.30

As has been stated above, rural India was out of bounds for the money-making hospital-lab
combination that thrived on this business. But the figures for Census 2011 revealed that, as
many field workers and researchers had reported, the scanning centres were reaching into
villages with their mobile units and with collaborating doctors to ‘expand their business’.
This explains the fact that the drop in Child Sex Ratio in the rural areas, during the ten years
preceding the Census, is three times the drop in urban areas. That is why, the figure for rural
Child Sex Ratio at 919, though it is 17 above the urban ratio, does not give any comfort to
demographic observers and social workers. This is also evident in the number of rural
districts in which Child Sex Ratio is going dangerously down. The number of districts with a
ratio less than 900, made a quantum jump from 61 of 2001 Census to 188 of 2011 Census.
The number of districts with a ratio less than 850 increased from 54 to 74.

If we look at the figures of sex ratio in India, according to the 2011 Census, the number of
girls stands at 940 which is a marginal increase from 933 in 2001. Not surprisingly, Haryana
has the lowest sex ratio among the states while Kerala remains at the top with the highest sex
ratio. In the national capital Delhi, the statistics stand at 821 girls against 1000 boys in 2001
compared to 866 in 2011.

According to the statistics, nearly 10 million female foetuses have been aborted in the
country over the past two decades. Of the 12 million girls born in India, one million do not
see their first birthdays.

As a result, human trafficking has become common in various states of India where teenage
girls are being sold for cheap money by poor families. The girls are treated as sex objects and
more than half of such cases go unreported.

30
http://mospi.nic.in/

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 Female Foeticide

It was census of1991 that first sounded the

alarm about the dangerously low Child Sex
Ratio in several States
915 928 951 916 949 927
1000 875 879 899
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

Census of 2001 shows the further downward slide of Child Sex Ratio

965
1000 908 916
868 883 896
900 819 845
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

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 Female Foeticide
Census of 2011 shows further declining in Child Sex Ratio in different States and Union
Territories

960 943
940 926
920 911
904
900 886 883 883
880
859
860
840
820
800

5.1.3. Rural-Urban differentials in Child Sex Ratio

What is quite appalling is that it is not the poor people, in the rural areas of backward regions,
who engage in this horrifying crime now. The practice is more widespread in regions that are
socially and economically better off and among people who are more educated. It is not just
the traditional preference for the male child, the unbearable burden of dowry or the fact that
no income can be expected from the girl child that makes people resort to this crime, though
these are, indeed, deciding factors for many. The malady has deeper roots of more complex
nature which have to be studied by social scientists. The stark reality is that India is on the
verge of a socio-economic catastrophe.

During 1991-2011, child sex ratio declined in both rural and urban India. Though, the child
sex ratio in rural India is 919 which is 17 points higher than that of urban India, the decline in
Child Sex Ratio (0-6 years) during 2001-2011 in rural areas is more than three times as
compared to the drop in urban India which is a matter of grave concern. However, the gap in
rural urban child sex ratio has been reduced from 27points in 2001 to 17 points in 2011.

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 Female Foeticide
Child (0-6 years) Sex Ratio:1991-2011 in India

960

950

940

930

920 Total

910 Rural

Urban
900

890

880

870
1991 2001 2011

Above chart shows that child sex ratio has declined from 1991 to 2011. This data also shows
that child sex ratio in urban areas is lesser than as compared to rural areas. It may be due to
easy access to different abortion techniques.

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 Female Foeticide

JUDICIAL RESPONSE AND MEASURES TO CURB

FEMALE FOETICIDE
In this chapter, judicial pronouncements and measures to curb the female foeticide have been
discussed. The news related to female foeticide have also been discussed.

JUDICIAL ACTIVISM AND RESPONSE

Our honourable judiciary in India had observed 2007 as the Awareness Year of Female
Foeticide and dealt in a strict manner with those responsible for this crime. The former Chief
Justice Y.K. Sabharwal had declared while delivering his presidential address at a statelevel
seminar on 'Eradication of Female Foeticide', jointly organised by the Punjab Department of
Health and Family Welfare and Punjab Legal Services Authority that law can play an
important role in checking this menace of female foeticide.

Ø CEHAT v Union of India31

In the landmark case of CEHAT, MASUM and Dr Sabu George v Union of India and others
in light of the alarming decline in sex ratios in the country to the disadvantage of women, this
petition was filed seeking directions from the Supreme Court for the implementation of the
PreNatal Diagnostic Techniques Act which regulates the provision of prenatal diagnostic
technology. In this case the Court took on the unique role of actually monitoring the
implementation of the law and issuing several beneficial directives over the course of 3 years
during which the case was proceeding in court. This petition put the issue of sex selection and
sex selective abortion on the national agenda and as a consequence there have been
heightened activities on this issue by government and nongovernmental agencies alike.

In the words of Supreme Court of India, It is unfortunate that for one reason or the other, the
practice of female infanticide still prevails despite the fact that gentle touch of a daughter and
her voice has soothing effect on the parents. One of the reasons may be the marriage
problems faced by the parents compelled with the dowry demand by the so-called educated
and/or rich persons who are well placed in the society. The traditional system of female
infanticide where by female baby was done away with after birth by poisoning or letting her

31
2003 (10) SCALE 11, (2003) 8 SCC 412

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 Female Foeticide
choke on husk continues in a different form by taking advantage of advance medical
techniques.

Unfortunately, developed medical science is misused to get rid of a girl child before birth.
Knowing fully well that it is immoral and unethical as well as it may amount to an offence,
foetus of a girl child is aborted by qualified and unqualified doctors or compounders. This has
affected overall sex ratio in various The Supreme Court of India also directed all the State
Governments/Union Territory administrations to create public awareness against the practice
of prenatal determination of sex and female foeticide through advertisements in the print and
electronic media by hoardings and other appropriate means. The Governments has to furnish
quarterly returns to the central supervisory board giving a report on the implementation of
PNDT Act, 1994.

Ø Kharak Singh Vs. State of U.P. and others32

The Supreme Court has certainly recognized that a person has complete rights of control over
his body organs and his ‘person’ under Article 21. It can also said to be including the
complete right of a woman over her reproductive organs. In the United States of America, the
Supreme Court upheld the right to privacy and ended the ban on birth control back in 1965, in
the case of Griswold v. Connecticut. Eight years later, the Supreme Court ruled the right to
privacy included abortions in the landmark case of Roe v. Wade. In 1976, Planned
Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth, ruled that requiring consent by the husband
and the consent from a parent if a person was under 18 was unconstitutional. This case
supported a woman's control over her own body and reproductive system. William Brennan,
J. stated:

"If the right to privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual, married or single, to
be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a
person as the decision to bear or beget a child."

Ø Vijay Sharma and Another Vs Union of India33

The couple, Vijay and Kirti Sharma, based in the commercial metropolis Mumbai,
challenged the validity of the Pre Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Tests Act (PCPNDT)

32
1964 SCR(1) 332
33
AIR 2008 Bom 29

39

 Female Foeticide
Act, a 2001 Indian legislation which bans sex determination. But the judges said in a verdict
pronounced on Friday that sex selection would be as good as female foeticide.

Ø Qualified Private Medical Practitioners and Hospitals Association Vs State of

Kerala34

It was declared that laboratories and clinics which do not conduct prenatal diagnostic, test
using ultrasonography will not come within the purview of the PreNatal Diagnostic
Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 and a direction to the
respondents not to insist for registration of all ultrasound scanning centres irrespective of the
fact as to whether they are conducting ultrasonography, under the Act, 1994. a similar view
was taken in the case of Malpani Infertility Clinic Pvt. Ltd. and Others Vs Appropriate
Authority, PNDT Act and Others.

Ø Dr. Varsha Gautam W/O Dr. Rajesh Gautam vs State Of U.P.35

A pregnant woman wanted to get her abortion done because there was a girl child in her
womb. She approached the petitioner Dr. Varsha Gautam at her hospital, who agreed to
perform the abortion although it was an offence to perform such an operation and even
determination of the sex by doctors using ultrasound technique was illegal. The petitioner is
said to have engaged in getting abortions done in her hospital in collusion with doctors, who
determined the sex of the foetus by conducting ultrasound tests. Her clinic was not even
registered under the Act and she was not entitled to conduct prenatal diagnostic procedures
therein.

Ø Vinod Soni and Another Vs Union of India36

By this petition, the petitioners who are married couple seek to challenge the constitutional
validity of Preconception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection)
Act of 1994 (hereinafter referred to Sex Selection Act of 1994). The petition contains
basically two challenges to the enactment. First, it violates Article 14 of the Constitution and
second, that it violates Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It was held that Right to bring
into existence a life in future with a choice to determine the sex of that life cannot in itself to
be a right. Reliance is placed on a Supreme Court Judgment and two earlier decisions

34
2004 (4) KarLJ 81
35
AIR 2006 SC
36
2005 CriLJ 3408

40

 Female Foeticide
whereby the Supreme Court has explained Article 21 and the rights bestowed thereby include
right to Food, clothing, decent environment, and even protection of cultural heritage. These
rights even if further expanded to the extremes of the possible elasticity of the provisions of
Article 21 cannot include right to selection of sex whether preconception or post conception
thus, not unconstitutional.

In order to strengthen the monitoring of female foeticide and girl child survival, the Registrar
General of India, has made it mandatory for all the Chief Registrars of Births and Deaths to
closely monitor the sex ratio at birth every month.

STRATEGIES TO CURB FEMALE FOETICIDE

• Strengthening the existing laws:

Though most laws are made in India with great fervor, their execution is the main issue.
Violations of the PNDT Act carry a five year jail term and a fine as well; however, while 23
cases have been registered under the Act so far, no one has been convicted37. The reason why
the law has proved ineffective is because it is difficult to regulate all clinics that use ultra-
sound for sex-determination as well as for a host of other purposes including detection of
genetic abnormalities in the fetus. While the law seeks to punish sex determination, it is
rendered ineffective because of the liberal MTP Act which allows abortion on the ground of
mental trauma. Even though the blatant hoardings and advertisements of sex determination
seem to have disappeared, spread of information about clinic services is now done by "word
of mouth". Restricting the right to abortion to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy would
automatically curtail sex-selective abortion, since sex detection by ultrasound is only possible
around the 15th week of pregnancy.

• Intensive IEC campaigns for raising awareness:

The Government has recently launched a "Save the Girl Child Campaign". One of its main
objectives is to lessen the preference for a son by highlighting the achievements of young
girls. To achieve the long-term vision, efforts are afloat to create an environment where sons
and daughters are equally valued. The mass media must be involved in promoting a positive
image of women. School and College girls should be made as the target audience. However,
this should be combined with highlighting the issue and dangers of female feticide and

37
Selection - Gender Selection Available at:http://www.familyjoy.netlpages/sexselection

41

 Female Foeticide
skewed gender ratio. Various NGOs are already taking an active lead in this area. It must be
emphasized that involvement of community leaders as well as influential persons would go a
long way in assuring success in such campaigns. However, the root causes of gender bias
need to be tackled first and steps towards woman empowerment must be strengthened".

• Women Empowerment:

Education of women is a powerful tool for improving nutrition levels, raising the age at
marriage, acceptance of family planning, improvement in self-image, and their
empowerment. NGOs may be encouraged to promote formation of self help groups, organize
non-formal education for adult females and school drop outs, create employment
opportunities for women as well as provide counseling and support services to newly married
and pregnant women to discourage them from undergoing MTP38.

• Role of Medical Colleges and Professional bodies:

Last but not the least, the role of medical colleges and professional bodies 'such as IMA,
FOGSI and association of radiologists, in countering this burning issue needs to be given due
importance. This may include

• Sensitizing medical students who are the doctors of tomorrow; towards the adverse
sex ratio while stressing upon the ethical issues in female feticide.
• Conduct regular workshops/CMEs, which would greatly help to reiterate the
importance of this problem in the country. Private practitioners should also be
encouraged to participate in such programs.
• Organize awareness campaigns in field practice areas.

NEWS RELATED TO FEMALE FOETICIDE

• Jaisalmer female infanticide: NCPCR orders reinvestigation

A team of the NCPCR that recently visited Jaisalmer to look into the complaints of female
infanticide, has directed the district administration to reinvestigate the circumstances leading
to the death of three baby girls believed to have been killed by their families soon after
leaving the health facilities last month. They have been asked to submit a report to the
Commission within the next 10 days. (NEW DELHI, September 22, 2011 THE HINDU)

38
.Sharma BR, Vij K and Gautam CS. Murdered in the womb. J Soc Welfare. 2001; 48(8): 25-26

42

 Female Foeticide
• Three years on, police fail to trace people involved in dumping fetuses

The Jalandhar police commissionerate and the rural police have failed to trace the
unidentified people involved in dumping foetuses from April 2012 to June 2015, reveals right
to information (RTI) query.
The RTI was filed by Hindustan Times under Right to Information Act, 2005. The
information hints at an illegal practice of sex-selection abortion prevalent under the noose of
the health department. A total of 18 foetuses, including 10 of girls, were recovered by the
police in the district.
According to the RTI a total of 12 cases were registered under Sections 318 (concealment of
birth by secret disposal of a dead body) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 14 police
commissionerates. The police have made four arrests in one case, while in the remaining 11
incidents the cops are still to make any headway. The rural police have registered six cases
under the same Section of the IPC during the period. (ndtv.in, August 16,2015)

• Madhya Pradesh: Newborn baby girl strangled to death, female infanticide

suspected
A case of suspected female infanticide has come to light in Javi village near here after the
recovery of a newborn baby girl's body from a pond, police said today.
Two days ago, the baby girl's body was found floating in the pond at Javi village, after which
villagers informed the police, which seized the body and sent it for autopsy.
The postmortem report revealed that the girl survived only one day and she was strangulated,
police said. (MAY 15, 2013, Hindustan Times)

• Four Foetus found in Jaipur

Jaipur, March 31 (IANS) Another foetus was recovered from a dustbin here Saturday taking
the total number of foetuses recovered in the city to four over the past five days, police said.
The foetus was recovered a day after the Rajasthan High Court summoned Jaipur's
Commissioner of Police B.L. Soni and sought explanation over action taken in the cases of
female foeticide and infanticide. Some passers-by informed the police in the afternoon that a
foetus was lying in a dustbin in Jalupura area.

"The foetus was not fully developed, so it is difficult to ascertain its sex. However it seems
that it is of a girl. Postmortem examination will be carried out Sunday and only after that the
sex will be confirmed," said a police officer.

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 Female Foeticide
The Rajasthan High Court had summoned the police commissioner after recovery of the
bodies of two newly-born girls from the posh colonies in the city Tuesday and Wednesday.
Another foetus of a boy had been recovered from the Sindhi Camp bus stand Thursday.
(September 2012, the Hindu)

• NASHIK: Woman Arrested for Allegedly Killing her Infant Daughter

Yeola police have arrested a 22-year-old woman for killing her own one-and-half-month-old
daughter on Saturday, police said.

According to police, the accused, Vaishali Kiran Ahire, a resident of Khirdibhavari in

Nandgaon taluka of the district had come to her parents' residence for her second delivery and
given birth to a girl around 40 days back.

However, Vaishali was not happy with herself for giving birth to another daughter and seeing
that there is nobody at home, she hit a grinding-stone on the head of the baby yesterday, they
said. (Ndtv oct 03,2011)

• Rajasthan Doctor Booked for Female Foeticide

A case has been registered against a doctor of a private nursing home in Rajasthan on charges
of infanticide and foeticide and administrating units of expired blood to patients. The first
information report was registered against Dr Dinesh Mittal at Bhawani Mandi in Kota
district, over 270 km from Jaipur. According to Census 2011, Rajasthan has 883 girls
between the age of 0-6 for every 1,000 boys. The child sex ratio in 2001 was 909.

Alarmed over the state's skewed sex ratio, the state government recently announced steps to
curb pre-natal sex determination tests at ultrasound clinics. The steps include increasing the
number of health department inspection teams and equipping them with devices like hidden
cameras and voice recorders. The state government has also increased the amount of prize
money given to a person who complains about errant ultrasound clinics.

44

 Female Foeticide
CONCLUSION & SUGGESTIONS

“If we don’t stop today the killing of foetus,

It is certain it will tomorrow defeat us,
It will tear down to shreds all that we value,
We’ll never be same again, ME and YOU”

In India, the available legislation for prevention of sex determination needs strict
implementation, alongside the launching of programmes aimed at altering attitudes, including
those prevalent in the medical profession. More generally, demographers warn that in the
next twenty years there will be a shortage of brides in the marriage market mainly because of
the adverse juvenile sex ratio, combined with an overall decline in fertility. While fertility is
declining more rapidly in urban and educated families, nevertheless the preference for male
children remains strong. For these families, modern medical technologies are within easy
reach. Thus selective abortion and sex selection are becoming more common. The National
Plan of Action for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Decade
of the Girl Child (1991-2000) seeks to ensure the equality of status for the girl child by laying
down specific goals for her dignified survival and development without discrimination. The
codified law world over considers human life as sacred and specific legal provisions have
been devised to protect the life of the born and the unborn. However, the objective of the law
gets defeated due to lacunae in the law and lack of proper implementation. Even though the
law is a powerful instrument of change yet law alone cannot root out this social problem. The
girls are devalued not only because of the economic considerations but also because of
sociocultural factors, such as, the belief that son extends the lineage, enlarges the family tree,
provides protection safety and security to the family and is necessary for salvation as he alone
can light the funeral pyre and perform other death related rites and rituals. Evidence indicates
that the problem of female foeticide is more prevalent in orthodox families. It is, therefore,
essential that these socio-cultural factors be tackled by changing the thought process through
awareness generation, mass appeal and social action. In addition to this all concerned i.e. the
religious and social leaders, voluntary organisations, women’s groups, socially responsible
media, the doctors; the Medical Council/Association (by enforcing medical ethics and
penalties on deviant doctors) and the law enforcement personnel should work in a

45

 Female Foeticide
coordinated way. To conclude I would like to say that awareness amongst people from all
walks of life.

Though we can’t avert the catastrophe, we can reduce the duration of the consequences, we
can help the society in preparing the society from the repercussions and we can put an
immediate stop to the inhumane horror of foeticide.

Spread awareness on consequences of female foeticide.

Fight against the misuse of advanced technologies.

Intervene for the support of unwilling mothers.

Stand up for justice/righteousness/against cruelty & crimes.

46

 Female Foeticide

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. PRIMARY SOURCES
(i) International Conventions/Treaties
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 The Indian law enacted on its
guidelines is Human Rights Protection Act, 1993
• UNFPA. Report of the International Workshop on Skewed Sex Ratios at Birth:
Addressing the Issue and the Way Forward
• United States Census Bureau
doi: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0653000.html

(ii) Statutes
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
• The Constitution of India, 1950
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act,1971
• Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic (Regulation and Prevention) Act, 1994

2. SECONDARY SOURCES

(i) Book
• Gupta, O.P., Pandey, N.L. Legalization of Abortion in India, US National Library of
Medicine, National Institutes of Health. Edn.4 2014
• Graham, Ruth H., Rankin, Judith M, Robson, Stephen C (2008). “Understanding
feticide: An analytic review.Social Science and Medicine, 66 (289–300)
• Brody, B. (1975) Abortion and Sanctity of human life: A Philosophical View, Oxford
University Press, Vol II,2007

(ii) Journals
• Jessy Kurian “A Cry Unheard Female Foeticide & Female Infanticide”, Legal News
& Views Vol. 17 No. 11. Nov, 2003.
• Justice Dipak Mishra “ Female Foeticide – A Social Menace, Nyaya Deep, Official
Journal of NALSA Vol. VIII , Issue-2, April 2007.
• Ramaswami, G. Basic Right of the child – Born and unborn AIR, 2002, Journal
Section, P141
• Amita Nikore, “Need for Social Action to curb Female Foeticide”. Legal News &
Views, Vol 19, July, 2005
• Alka Srivastava, “Declining Sex ratio: The marginalized Girl Child” “Women’s
Lint Vol. 8, No. 1, January March -2002.

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 Female Foeticide
• Swati Mehta & Jayna Kothari, “ It’s A Girl ! PreNatal Sex Selection and the Law”,
Lawyers collective,Nov, 2001.
• Meenu Anand, “Indian Legal Framework to Arrest Female Foeticide” Legal News
& Views, September 2005.
(iii) Newspapers
• The Hindu
• The Tribune
• Hidustan Times
• Navbharat Times

(iv) Online Articles/E-Journals/Websites

• Census Figures of 2001.0ffice of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner,
India.
• Census of India: Provisional Population Totals 2011: India: Census 2011
• ‘Steven Ertelt’, LifeNews.com ,Editor, December 20, 2007
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12336413
• http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2012/Repor
t_SexRatios_2012.pdf
• UNFPA. doi: http://india.unfpa.org/drive/PresentationmadeatthePNDTWorkshop.pdf
• The world union of Humanist organizations International humanist and ethical
union available at http://www.iheu.org/femalefoeticideinindia
• http://india.unfpa.org/drive/PCNDTworkshop_report19final.pdf
• Vemuri, Anuradha.(2012). Presentations made by Resource Persons at the PNDT
Workshop.
• UNFPA India, Reports. (2012) Towards a Stronger Implementation of the Pre-
Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC&PNDT) Act. doi: “2 more
female foetuses found,” Tribune, last updated September 4,
2006,http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060905/nation.htm#16.
• www.academia.edu
• www.fight4foetus.blogspot.in/
• www.savethegirlchild.com
• http://unwantedgirlchild.blogspot.in/

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