DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY
VISAKHAPATNAM, A.P., INDIA

PROJECT TITLE
SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTION- PROBLEMS

SUBJECT
SOCIOLOGY

NAME OF THE FACULTY

PROF. M. LAKSHMIPATHI RAJU

NAME OF THE CANDIDATE

ROLL NO.
SEMESTER

SEJAL
ROLL NO: - 2018082
1ST SEMESTER

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to express my special thanks to my teacher Prof. M. Lakshmipathi Raju, who gave me this
golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic ‘SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTION-
PROBLEMS’, which also helped me in doing a lot of research and I came to know about a lot of
things.

Secondly, I also thank DSNLU for providing me with all the necessary materials required for the
completion of the project.

Sejal

1st Semester

Regd. No.-201808

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 ABSTRACT

NAME OF THE SUBJECT: Sociology

NAME OF THE TOPIC: Sex selective abortion-problems

INTRODUCTION:

Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the

predicted sex of the infant. The selective abortion of female fetuses is most common in
areas where cultural norms value male children over female children, especially in
India, this Sex-selective abortion affects the human sex ratio—the relative number of
males to females in a given age group. Studies and reports focusing on sex-selective
abortion are predominantly statistical; they assume that birth sex ratio—the overall
ratio of boys and girls at birth for a regional population, is an indicator of sex-selective
abortion.

REASERCH PROBLEM:

1. Whether it is Violence against women?

2. Is Sex-Selective Abortion Associated with a Reduction in Sex Ratio? 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Sources regarding the study mostly include the web sources and some of the books
etc. Review is done on a wider basis to elaborate in an accurate way. Then only the
research becomes a complete one. The data is collected from the web source.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The researcher adopted Doctrinal method of study. This makes the collection of
accurate information regarding the research topic the functioning of parliamentary

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form of democracy ad if there is any need to change this system of democracy to any
other form.

IDENTIFICATION OF VARIABLE:

a) Dependent variable
Sex selective abortion
b) Independent variable
Discrimination of female child

HYPOTHESIS:

There is a misuse of scanning and abortion since sons are perceived as a guaranty of
family honor and they will take care of parents in future so the preference is for a boy
child.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
2. REASON FOR OCCURRENCE
3. IMPACT ON SEX RATIO
4. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
5. UTILIZATION OF NEW REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR SEX-
SELECTION
6. LEGAL INTERVENTION
7. CONCLUSION
8. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 1. INTRODUCTION

Sex-selective abortion, which is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex
of a fetus to achieve a desired sex. The disinterest in having a female child has led to a situation
where families are regularly aborting female fetuses, even when the act has been declared illegal and
when the fetus has crossed medically advised gestation period limit for safe abortion. It can occur
before pregnancy through pre-implantation, during pregnancy through prenatal sex detection or
following birth through infanticide or child neglect. The selective abortion of female fetuses is far
more common than the selective abortion of male fetuses due to inherent culture-based
discrimination against women and what is often referred to as ‘son preference’.

The initial stage of sex-selective abortion begins with determining the sex of the unborn child,
otherwise known as prenatal sex discernment. This most commonly used method involves the use of
obstetric ultrasonography, which checks for the sagittal sign as a marker of fetal sex. It can be
performed between 65 and 69 days from fertilization. Cell-free fetal DNA testing, wherein a blood
test is performed on the mother to analyze the small amount of fetal DNA that can be found within it.
It provides the earliest post-implantation test.
More invasive measures of prenatal sex discernment include chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and
amniocentesis, which involve testing the chorionic villus (found in the placenta) or amniotic fluid.
Both these tests can reveal the sex of the child and are performed early in the pregnancy, however
these methods tend to be more expensive and dangerous than blood sampling or ultrasonography so
are less frequently used. Once the gender of the child has been determined, parents are able to make
the decision about whether they want to continue the pregnancy or whether they want to proceed
with an abortion.
Indian society is a male dominant society in which women are subordinated and made dependent on
males at every single aspect. This has led to strong desire to avoid the birth of a female child in
family. The predominantly patriarchal, social, cultural and religious set up founded on principle that
the family line runs through a male has contributed extensively to the secondary statues of women.
Presently violence against women is from womb to her tomb, crimes are being committed against
women from period of conception. Violence against women are starting when they are in the womb
itself which is female feticide (abortion of female fetus). 1
1
Prof. M. Lakshmipathi Raju, Women Empowerment.

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 2. REASON FOR OCCURRENCE

Sex selection is perhaps the most overt form of discrimination against women. It occurs because of
an inherent and sometimes culturally influenced discrimination against girls which sees males as the
preferred sex; otherwise known as ‘son preference’. Before the information era, male babies were
preferred because they provided manual labor and were able to complete tasks that female children
were seen as not having the strength to perform. Nowadays, a son is seen as more of an ‘asset’ since
he can earn and support the family, while a daughter is seen as more of a ‘liability’ since she will
eventually leave the family home to move in with her husband’s family. Any investment in a
daughter is therefore seen as a waste of resources as she will not be contributing financially to the
family in the future.

Sons in developing countries also often have higher wage earning capacities, and the family often
desire male offspring so to inherit property and carry on the family name. One of the most commonly
cited reasons for sex-selective abortion is that of the history of the dowry in Indian culture. While
Indian law forbids the provision or acceptance of a dowry, the enforcement of the law is weak, and
so families continue to offer and accept dowries and subsequently dowry disputes remain a serious
problem (U.S. State Department, 2012). The fear of being unable to raise a dowry in the future and
the economic burden that doing so may place on a family, forces families into believing they have no
other option that to abort a female fetus (UNFPA, 2013).

Sonography clinics wanting to increase their own financial gains will often exploit this fear of raising
a dowry through their advertising campaigns by using slogans such as “Invest only Rs. 500 now and
save your precious Rs. 500,000 later” (The Guardian, 2012).

When a woman marries she often leaves the family home and lineage to be absorbed into her
husband’s family while a newly married man remains at home, allowing his parents and family to
make use of his financial resources, and he will be readily available to look after ailing parents when
they become old or ill. A daughter will have forfeited this commitment as soon as she leaves home to
live with her partner’s family. In Indian culture, men are also the only ones allowed to perform death
rites.

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As previously mentioned, inheritance law in India is highly patrilineal and discriminatory towards
women, resulting in them often being unable to inherit anything from their families. Even when there
are no sons, inheritance will pass to uncles and male cousins before it reaches female heirs.
Essentially, kinship systems in India ensure that parents can benefit little from having daughters but
have strong economic incentives to raise sons.

The tradition of patrilineal inheritance in many societies, coupled with a reliance on boys to provide
economic support, to ensure security in old age and to perform death rites are part of a set of social
norms that place greater value on sons than daughters. Sons are therefore seen as essential for the
survival of the family and for social security in old age, and are thus valued more highly than
daughters.

Low fertility represents another influence on sex-selective abortions. As couples around the world
are generally moving towards smaller family sizes, the issue of sex selection is being exacerbated.
Rather than families continuing to have children until they have the desired number of boys, their
desire for smaller families has resulted in an increase in the abortion of female fetuses, as families
are unwilling to continue having girls until a boy is produced.

The existence two child rule in India for controlling the population growth has further exacerbated
the problem as families are continually aborting female fetuses until a male child is born. In general,
sex-ratio imbalances across affected countries increase as birth order increases which is often
attributable to family balancing. Subsequently, the ratio is more skewed between second, third or
higher birth-order children compared to first-borns. This indicates an increasing desire for boys as
the number of daughters increases.2

2
https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/Preventing_gender-biased_sex_selection.pdf

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 3. IMPACT ON SEX RATIO

As a population of approximately 1.237 billion, with 28.9% under the age of 14 and an additional
18.27% of the population between the ages of 15 to 24 (CIA World Fact book, 2013). Approximately
one fifth of the world’s children under the age of four reside in India (UNICEF, 2011). In addition,
20% of the total world’s child deaths occur in India, with 1.89 million children dying in India before
they turn five. In 2010, 29.8% of the population lived below the national poverty line. Out of 187
countries, India is currently ranked 136th of the Human Development Index; a comparative measure
of life expectancy, literacy, education, standards of living and quality of life. This means that India is
classified as having a medium level of human development.

Techniques for determining sex prenatally first became available in the early 1970s and 1980s in
India, and quickly gained popularity, spreading rapidly throughout the country, although they are
now banned from being used for sex determination purposes and their use, under law, is solely
permitted to detect genetic diseases. Today, these techniques are typically available from mobile
units such as travelling ultrasound vans and from family planning clinics. Since the introduction of
these techniques, it has been estimated that between 10 and 60 million girls that should have been
born in India have been aborted, with an additional 60,000 going missing every year. In 1871, when
India carried out their first census, there were 5.5 million more males than females in the country. In
1990, the census revealed there were 25 million more males than females in India, a figure that rose
to 35 million in 2001. Today, experts are estimating this number could be as high as 50 million
missing women in India alone (NY Times, 2005). In 2010, 640,472 abortions were reportedly carried
out, however experts believe this number could be as high as seven million, with over two-thirds
taking place outside of authorized health facilities (TIME, 2013). While there is no data on the
percentage of female fetuses being aborted outside of licensed facilities, it can be assumed that the
number is high, far higher than the number of male fetuses being aborted. Often these gender-
specific abortions are being facilitated by a small proportion of doctors and other personnel who
have huge monetary interest in perpetuating the practice and who exploit the traditional preference
for boys to do so (UNFPA, 2013).

The prevalence of sex-selective abortions is a global issue because it reinforces and further embeds
discriminatory and sexist stereotypes towards women by devaluing females by determining that one

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gender is more worthy of life than another. Sex selection in favor of boys is a symptom of pervasive
cultural, social, political and economic injustices against women and is such a manifest violation of
women’s human rights. It is also an extreme form of violence against women.
Not only is the practice’s prevalence so concerning because it reinforces discriminatory attitudes
towards women, but it also has a serious effect on the human sex ratio within a country. Put simply,
the sex ratio is the ratio of males to female within a population with a ‘normal’ Sex Ratio at Birth
(SRB) ranging from 102 to 106 males per 100 females (WHO, 2011). Some believe that this higher
rate of male births in comparison with females is nature’s way of balancing the slightly increased
risk of premature death in young males. In some countries where sex-selective abortions are
commonly practiced, a sex ratio as high as 130 has been observed which means that there are 30%
more male babies being born than female (WHO, 2011). Such a skew in the SRB is not considered to
be a natural phenomenon, but has to be attributed to the direct elimination of girls through methods
including sex-selective abortions.

One of the prolonged effects of extensive female abortion is that there will be an over-abundance of
single men who, in a culture where marriage is practically universal and social status largely depends
on being married, will ultimately be left without a marriage partner. In parts of India, it has been
estimated that if the use of sex-selective abortions continues as its current rate, 12% to 15% of men
of marrying age will be unable to find a wife. This unfortunately may lead to an increase in
trafficking as men are forced to ‘buy’ wives from poorer districts within their own countries or
across international borders. Evidence suggests that this is already taking place with women being
trafficked into China and Taiwan solely for the purpose of marriage to make up for the shortage of
women. There is also some discussion about the effect that an abundance of males can have on
society as a whole, with some literature emphasizing how this may lead to an increasingly violent
society, especially with regards to an increase in rape, robbery and sexual violence.

Due to lack of resources (e.g. monetary, physician, transportation) and emotional factors, many
women are forced to undergo what are internationally referred to as ‘unsafe abortions’. An unsafe
abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by an individual or individuals who lack the necessary
skills to adequately and safely perform an abortion in an environment which fails to meet minimum
medical standards (WHO, 1992). Of the estimated 44 million abortions per year, it is believed that
just under half are considered to be unsafe abortions. These unsafe abortions lead to approximately
70,000 maternal deaths annually (Shah and Ahman, 2009). 3

3
V.Prabhakar, Pre-Natal and Sex Determination, (Kamal Publishers, New Delhi, India,2008)

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 4. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

India was recently called the “undeclared winner in the contest of violence against women”, and was
recently voted as the worst country in the G20 to be a woman due to the discrimination and danger
that woman in India face every day (Huffington Post, 2012). The U.S. State Department’s Human
Rights Report from 2012 reported that rape, domestic violence, dowry related deaths, honor killings,
sexual harassment and discrimination against women were all serious problems with the country. It
also appears that violence against women is increasing with recent statistics from the NCRB
revealing a 31.02% increase in crimes against women since 2005(UNCFPA, 2013). This violence
against women appears to have become so embedded in some communities that it is considered to be
a norm that no longer needs to be questioned. When asked, 54% of women aged between 15 to 49
years of age in India considered their husband justified in hitting or beating their wife under certain
circumstance such as if a wife burnt food if she argued with her husband, if she went out without
telling him, if she neglected the children or if she refuses sexual relations (UNICEF, 2011a). This
discrimination against women is not just aimed at adults, but also at children’s, sometimes from
women themselves.

This discrimination against girls has become so embedded in India that some families would rather
not have daughters at all. This has led to the perpetuation of sex-selective abortions. Before the
emergence of pre-natal sex determination techniques in the 1970s and 1980s, female infanticide was
practiced in some regions of India, especially in the north and north-west of the country where cases
were well-documented in the censuses conducted by the British and India after independence (Kaur,
2008). While the deliberate elimination of female infants is thought to have radically declined since
the 18th and 19th centuries, many academic and NGOs believe the passive elimination of the girl-
child continues to this day through neglect such as lack of food, reduced immunization rates and
restricted access to medical care (Barcellos et. Al, 2012; Corsi et. Al, 2009; Guilmoto, 2007).
Between the ages of one and 59 months, girls in every region in India have higher death rates than
boys, and inequities in access to care, rather than biological or genetic factors are the most plausible
explanation (The Million Death Study Collaborators, 2010). A study carried out by the
Government’s Ministry of Women and Child Development found that 70.57% of girls reported
neglect of one form or another by family members; 48.4% of girls wished they had been born a boy;
and in Bihar 65.63% of girls reported being given less food than their brothers, which is three- fold

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the national response of 27.33%. With this decline in female infanticide, there has been a
corresponding increase in the practice of sex-selective abortions, which has had a dramatic effect on
the country’s sex ratio. In India, the current SRB lies at 1.12, or 112 males per 100 females (UNFPA,
2012). The CSR for children under the age of six was 927 girls per 1000 boys in 2001, but in 2011
the number had declined to 919 girls per 1000 boys (UNFPA, 2013). While the sex ratio in India is
far less distorted than the ratio in China, India’s appears to be continuously widening while China’s
appears to be slowly stabilizing.
The fertility rate in India has also declined quite rapidly from 1990. In 1990 the average number of
children per family was 3.8, which declined to 3.1 in 2000, 2.8 in 2005 and 2.6 children per family in
2010. This desire for a smaller family means that women are less likely to continue having children
until a male heir is born and are subsequently more likely to abort female fetuses. Women are
therefore under immense pressure to produce sons. Failure to do so may lead to consequences such
as violence, rejection by the family or even death. If they are unable to afford an abortion by a
licensed practitioner, or if the practitioner refuses to perform the abortion because they believe it is
for gender purposes, the women may continue to have children until a boy is born which

puts their life and health at risk, or they may resort to unsafe abortions performed by an unlicensed
individual with little or no medical experience in dangerous conditions. It is estimated every two
hours in India a woman dies from an unsafe abortion (TIME, 2013). What is surprising is that the
selective abortion of girls in India is far more common in richer or more educated households than in
poorer, less educated households where it may be assumed that financial pressures would necessitate
smaller families. Analysis reveals a positive linkage between abnormal sex ratio and better socio-
economic status and literacy, which contradicts the notion that sex selection is archaic and practiced
among the poor and uneducated (UNFPA, 2007). According to India’s 2001 census, women with
high school diplomas and above who gave birth over the previous year had 114 boys for every 100
girls; among illiterate women by contrast, the sex ratio was just over 108 – still skewed but far closer
to the norm. What is also clear is that the SRB of the second child declines significantly when the
first child was a female.
The sex ratio in India is not uniformly skewed across the country. The ratio in districts in the north-
and north-west of the country is far more skewed than anywhere else in the country. Haryana is a
state in northern India, having come into existence in November 1966 as a newly created state carved
out of the Punjab state on the basis of language. It had been a part of the Kuru region in North India.
It is one of the wealthiest states of India and has the second highest per capita income in the country,
having experienced quite rapid economic development in recent decades. It is however one of the

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more socially protracted states in India with rampant caste based discrimination, female sex selection
and rape, and the health and social status of women in the state continues to be poor. Violence
against women is quite widespread and neglect of female children continues to be the cultural norm
in this region (Visaria, 2005. This discrimination against women has led to a situation where the state
has a higher than national average SRB or 117.9 males to females in comparison with the national
average (UNFPA, 2012). This translates to 877 women to every thousand men (2011); an increase
from 861 in 2001. In Hisar, where Childreach International’s ‘Save the Girl Child’ is predominantly
based, the child sex ratio lies at 851 females per 1000 males. Out of the ten districts in India with the
worst sex ratio, three of them are in Haryana.
In 2003 in Haryana, the charge for an ultrasound lay between Rs.300 to Rs.500 (US $3-5), which is
relatively affordable for those living in the state (UNFPA, 2003). This gender-based sex selection has
led to a paucity of potential brides in Haryana, which has made bride trafficking a lucrative and
expanding trade in the state (UNFPA, 2013). Subsequently, a number of girls from Assam, West
Bengal, Jharkland, Bihar and Odisha are being sold to families in Haryana, ironically to produce a
male heir. In Haryana, a woman from Nepal, Bangladesh or another impoverished or tribal area in
India can be sold into marriage for the equivalent of $200, $800 less than the price of a bull in
Haryana (NY Times, 2005). The UNFPA study “Sex-selective abortions and fertility decline in
Haryana and Punjab” revealed that 62,000 sex-selective abortions were recorded in Haryana from
1996 to 1998, with 81% of them involving the abortion of a female fetus. The report also revealed
that Haryana and Punjab had the highest percentage of missing female children under the age of six
in the 1991 census. Visaria (2005) found that 44.2% of women in Haryana were illiterate. Visaria
also found that families in Haryana desired smaller families, and were therefore unwilling to have a
child until a male heir was born. Women indicated that they had seen advertisements on the
advantages of having smaller families on televisions, and that this had influenced their decision to
abort female fetuses and have smaller families comprised of male children. Women also indicated
that if they became pregnant with a girl for the second or third time, they were put under immense
pressure from elders in the family to ensure that the next child was a boy. The women revealed that
they knew which towns in Haryana had private doctors with nursing or maternity homes that provide
sex determination and abortion services. The Haryanvi women were having the sex detection tests
carried out at one place and then were having the abortion at another without disclosing the results of
the test- women being informed of sex of baby in some secretive way.

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 5. UTILIZATION OF NEW REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR SEX-SELECTION

Despite dominant ideas about the neutrality of reproductive technologies, commercial, population
control and patriarchal interests greatly shape the availability and acceptance of SD(Sex
Determination) technology. Clearly, SD technology is not the cause of sex-selective abortions.
However, advances in reproductive technology, in terms of the creation and availability of
ultrasound machines, have corresponded with the move towards sex-selection and the increased
elimination of female babies. In fact, Punjab, with the worst sex ratios in the country was the first
state in 1979 to promote the commercial use of SD tests. Prior to the advent of ultrasounds and
amniocentesis, female infanticide was recorded but only among certain warrior castes (i.e., Rajputs
and Jats). In contrast, sex-selection is a widespread phenomenon that cuts across class, caste,
education, and religious divides. Moreover, despite the 1988 ban on SD tests in public hospitals,
private clinics are flourishing throughout India, as they are meeting the demand for such services and
incurring monetary benefits (Kishwar 1995; Patel 2007; Purewal 2010). In fact, SD technology has
become the mainstay for many gynaecologists. Dr. Kulkarni (1986), from the Foundation of
Research in Community Health, conducted a study to investigate the prevalence of SD tests in
Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was found that 84% of gynaecologists interviewed
were performing amniocentesis for SD. These 42 doctors performed approximately 270
amniocentesis tests per month (as cited in Patel 2007). The active role of doctors and medical
professionals in supporting the proliferation of the sex-selection industry should at the very least be
looked upon as influenced by profit maximization imperatives. It has been approximated that the
business of eliminating girls before birth is worth at least $100 million (George 2006). Moreover, the
economic benefits perceived by doctors for providing SD tests are inextricably tied to the willingness
and ability of India to source technology from multinational corporations (Patel 2007; Purewal
2010). Moreover, the medical community has refused to take responsibility for the declining sex
ratios or operate within the legal apparatus. At large, except for suspending the licenses of four
doctors from Punjab in 2005, the Indian Medical Council has not taken any progressive steps
towards preventing sex-selection. In fact, the medical community has actively broken laws pertaining
to sex-selection (George 2006). Also, private clinics have resorted to marketing and justifying their

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services by appealing to state population control policies and patriarchal ideas about female
devaluation. For instance, to promote their services the New Bhandari Ante-Natal SD Clinic in
Amritsar harnessed the idea that high dowry costs make daughters an economic liability (Patel 2007;
Purewal 2010). Their advertisements that came under heavy criticism from feminist groups featured
the slogan, “Spend Rs. 500 now, save Rs. 50,000 later” ( Patel 2007: 311). Also, Hingorani and
Shroff (1995) uncovered that renowned Indian medical researchers, who are credited with pioneering
the amniocentesis test at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, supported foetal SD. These
medical researchers validated the use of sex-selection as a population control method that prevents
female infanticide and assists women who are repeatedly reproducing in order to have a son (as cited
in Patel 2007). Evidently, technocrats and medical community members are liable for disregarding
medical ethics and concerns about gender justice. But it is important to note that the unregulated
dispersal of SD technology is substantiated by the state’s capitalist and population control agenda.
As in the 1980s when SD tests were expensive and under strict government control in other
countries, the Indian government made these tests cheap and accessible (Patel 2007). Thus, the state
is directly implicated in exporting profitable technology to a context that is ripe with son preference.
Further, it has taken to selectively promoting SD technology over and above MVA (Manual Vacuum
Aspiration) technology, which conducts abortions via vacuum evacuation of uterine contents and
enhances the safety of the procedure (Passano 2001).

Clearly, technology is developed and made available based on the commercial imperatives of the
state and medical body, rather than concerns about the health and well-being of society members. In
the Indian context, population control rhetoric and the commercial interests of medical practitioners,
state actors and technocrats collude to shape the accessibility and rampant utilization of sex-selection
technology. Thus, in examining sex-selective abortion in India, it is essential to acknowledge that
role of institutional forces in reinforcing the expression of son preference and daughter devaluation
through sex-selection. In fact, the corrupt nexus between state and medical bodies that serves to
authorize and commercialize sex-selection has been the target of mainstream feminist organizing and
activism in the public forum. In 1984 women’s groups, civil liberties and health movements banded
together to form the Forum Against Sex Determination and Sex PreSelection (henceforth referred to
as FASDSP). FASDSP questioned the technocrats, scientists, and state for facilitating the widespread
use of SD technology. Their platform for legal intervention was premised on building state
accountability and fracturing the abusive potential of reproductive technologies. FASDSP prioritized
the immediate and long term consequences of sex-selection (i.e. the implications of the practice for
the further devaluation of women) and the psychological and physical health needs of women. The
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legal intervention, around limiting the use of ultrasounds and amniocentesis tests to the detection of
serious genetic conditions, arose in response to the pressure exerted by FASDSP and will be
explored below (Ganatra 2008; Luthra 1993; Menon 1995; Patel 2007). This examination reveals the
role of the legal apparatus, another institutional force in informing the dynamics of sex-selection in
India4.
6. LEGAL INTERVENTION
a) History and Evolution
As early as 1988, in response to FASDSP’s effective advocacy the Maharashtra government
introduced a legislative breakthrough, the Maharashtra Regulation of the Use of Prenatal
Diagnostic Techniques Act. This law was aimed at the misuse of SD tests and was somewhat
able to restrict the availability of the tests (Luthra 1993).
In 1994, in extending the state level initiative, the Indian Parliament passed the first national
law banning sex-selective abortion, the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and
Prevention of Misuse) Act (henceforth referred to as PNDT Act). The PNDT Act (1994)
limits the use of prenatal tests for the diagnosis of genetic conditions in fetuses and bans the
application of this technology for SD (Jaising, Sathyamala and Basu 2007; Menon 1995;
Sarkaria 2009).
It requires that all genetic counselling centers, clinics and laboratories register with the
government and that no center "be used or caused to be used by any person for conducting
pre-natal diagnostic techniques except for the purposes specified in clause" (as cited in
Sarkaria 2009: 919). In defining the medical instances in which a pre-natal diagnostic test can
be conducted, the clause lists five "abnormalities" and leaves it to the discretion of the
Central Supervisory Board to make additions to the list.
In addition, the PNDT Act prohibits advertisements promoting SD. The Act dictates that
medical personnel who defy the Act should be reported to their respective State Medical
Council. Significantly, the Act reflects FASDSP’s feminist ideology and applies the
presumption that women undergoing sex-selective abortions are not acting out of their free
will. They are viewed as being influenced by the prevailing social ethos or pressured by their
husbands and families. However, this presumption does not absolve women of
criminalization for engaging in sex-selection. Instead, it means that when a woman is charged
under the Act, some ’accomplice’ to the woman must also be charged (Jaising eal. 2007;
Menon 1995; Sarkaria 2009).

4
https://www.mcgill.ca/msr/files/msr/nagpal_v3.pdf

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 Overall, the PNDT Act of 1994 called for the regulation of prenatal diagnostic procedures but
failed to target newly developed sex-determinative technology i.e. sperm sorting. Also, it did
not regulate "portable" clinics and ultrasound tests that were common to all pregnancies and
revealed fetus sex. In response to the shortcomings of the initial Act, and demands by
advocacy groups to ensure stricter implementation of the PNDT Act, the Supreme Court
introduced amendments to the original Act in 2003. Also, it was re-termed the Pre-
Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex-Selection) Act
(henceforth referred to as PC & PNDT Act). In its ruling, the Supreme Court ordered the
central and state governments to report regularly on the implementation of the Act and to
educate the public about sex-selection through media campaigns. In addition to the
abovementioned conditions, the revised Act imposed stricter registration requirements for
ultrasound providers, limited the use of pre-conception diagnostic procedures to medically
necessary situations, and prohibited sex-selection (i.e., the use of any test or method for sex-
selective abortion) (Jaising et al. 2007; Menon 1995; Sarkaria 2009)

b) Challenges Faced While Implementing

The critique of the abovementioned legal intervention is premised on the difficulties in
implementing the Act, the inherent disparity between feminist ideals and a legal framework,
and the counterproductive conditions set forth by the Act. The implementation of the PC &
PNDT Act has been flawed due to a number of factors. First, the penalties laid out in the law
have been unable to prevent doctors from communicating information about the sex of the
fetus. Moreover, since the use of ultrasounds is an aspect of a regular pregnancy, it is difficult
to differentiate between illegal and legal use. Also, since SD tests and abortions are generally
done at different health facilities, it becomes difficult to establish a link between the two and
charge individuals for sex-selection. The inability of legal mechanisms to externally regulate
cases of sex-selection places the onus on governmental officials, individual providers, and
medical bodies (Ganatra 2008; Sarkaria 2009). However, government officials experience
significant pressure from the medical community to pardon charges against doctors. In fact, a
government official who conducted a raid on a clinic received threatening calls warning him
to discontinue such practices because there were "vested interests" behind the continuation of
sex-selective abortions and utilization of SD technology (Sarkaria 2009:923). Also, the
judicial inertia in processing crimes of sex-selection has meant that while 400 cases have
been registered since 1994, only a handful of individuals have been convicted. In addition,
contrary to reducing the incidence of sex-selection, the criminalization of the practice has
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 aided the proliferation of private clinics throughout the country. These private health facilities
make SD and sex-selective abortions cheap and accessible, often in unsafe conditions
(Ganatra 2008; Kishwar 1995; Sarkaria 2009).

c) Gap between the Legal Approach and Feminist Vision

An alternative and radical strand of feminism problematizes the legal approach due to its
hegemonic status and inability to target the root causes of son preference, as well as the
negative implications of the law’s conditions for the reproductive health and abortion rights
of women. First, a legal and rights based approach is perceived as antithetical to feminism
and analogous to colluding with hegemonic forces in utilizing the very apparatus that
reinforces the exploitation of poor and marginalized women. In articulating her criticism of
waging a state centered and top down campaign against sex-selection Menon (1995) states,
“[i]t is true that technology is not neutral in relation to power structures and that it tends to
reinforce existing patterns of power. Nevertheless, the solution cannot be to hand over entire
areas of science and knowledge to bureaucratic control. Such a strategy is in fundamental
contradiction to any feminist ideal of democracy” (Menon 1995:380).
Second, the content of the law evidences that it operates to target the symptoms of the
problem (sex-selection), rather than bring forth attitudinal changes with regard to its root
causes, son preference and daughter devaluation. Significantly, merely by banning sex-
selective abortion the systemic and enduring dynamics of daughter discrimination will not be
reversed and it is likely to manifest in alternate forms. In fact, in Punjab, the government’s
hyper vigilant and narrow focus on sex-selective abortion has allowed practices of female
infanticide to resurface (Ganatra 2008; Sarkaria 2009).

d) Prohibition of Sex-Selection and Abortion Rights

Female infanticide was prohibited through legislation in pre-Independence India. However,
the law was toothless and there were few, if any convictions. The IPC, 1860 also had
provisions of punishments for causing miscarriage and similar offences, but these too were
rarely enforced. Three decades after Independence, as pre-natal diagnostic techniques
spawned female feticide and an imbalanced sex ratio, the government issued directive in
1978 banning the misuse of amniocentesis in government hospitals or laboratories. The
relentless effort of activities led Maharashtra to enact a law to prevent sex determination test
the Maharashtra Regulation of Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1988. In 1994, after
intensive public debate all over India, the Parliament enacted the Pre-Natal Diagnostic
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 Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act on 20th September, 1994. The act,
which came into operation from 1st January, 1996 provided for the regulation of the use of
pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purpose of detecting genetic or metabolic disorders,
chromosomal abnormalities, and certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders;
and the prevention of the misuse of such techniques for the purpose of pre-natal sex
determination leading to female feticide. It has provisions for institutions that are responsible
for policy-making and those which are responsible for the implementation of the act. It
elaborates on the penalties for various offences and lays down who is to take cognizance of
complaints and how this is to be done. While FASDSP, the largest propeller of legal action
on sex-selective abortion in India, has consistently claimed that they do not want the
legislation against sex-selection to infringe on women’s abortion rights, the two issues cannot
be as distinctly separated in practice (Menon 1995). There are a number of examples that
point to the threat that banning sex-selective abortions imposes on the abortion rights of
Indian women. Agnes (1991) noted that two legal initiatives against SD, which were opposed
by FASDSP, were premised on questioning women’s unrestricted access to abortion. For
instance, in 1986 a woman’s group in Bombay petitioned the High Court against SD tests
arguing that they violated the right to life. Also, a Private Member’s Bill was introduced to
amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and instate the medical practitioner
with more power to refuse termination of a pregnancy if, "they have reason to believe that
such termination is sought with the intention to commit female feticide"(as cited in Menon
1995:378).
This suggestion is besotting with issues, because it places women’s access to abortion
services at the will and discretion of the medical practitioner. Moreover, these
recommendations address sex-selection through the purview of abortion debates and
therefore, pose a threat to the current conceptualization of abortion rights in India. Further,
despite its declaration, FASDSP has itself suggested that the MTP Act should be revised. The
clause that defines sex-selective abortion of female fetus as that which is performed on the
pregnant woman "on grounds other than those listed in the MTP Act of 1971" should be
deleted (Menon 1995:378-9). Their claim is that this definition excludes sex-selective
abortions deemed permissible by the Act through the mental health clause. As doctors
conducting sex-selection have interpreted the mental health stipulation, one of the listed
grounds, to include the mental trauma women would be subjected to if they give birth to a
female child. However, any amendment of the MTP Act has serious implications for
scrutinizing and possibly altering the provision of routine abortions (Menon 1995). In
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 addition, the campaign against sex-selection waged by FASDSP has been charged with using
inflammatory images that depict abortion in a negative light and fail to elucidate the
differences between sex-selective abortion and abortion. Also, their messaging portrays sex-
selective abortion as a sin and personifies the fetus by using the term female feticide.
Especially, if the discourse is translated into local languages it has a strong anti-abortion
connotation (Ganatra 2008). Given the vulnerable access to abortion experienced by poor and
rural women in India, the abovementioned legal measures and advocacy strategies have the
ability to bring into question current legal stipulations around abortion and further
compromise marginalized women’s access to abortions (Passano 2001). Significantly, in
India, abortion rights are premised on population control objectives, as opposed to principles
of reproductive freedom. But despite being legalized, most marginalized women are unable to
access adequate abortion services (Menon 1995). In fact, Bang and Bang (1992) noted that
ten percent of the total abortions are performed by licensed and safe medical services (as
cited in Menon 1995:375). Also, Jesani and Iyer (1993) asserted that 660,000 women die
every year due to illegal abortions that are performed by unqualified practitioners (as cited in
Menon 1995: 375). Thus, given the dire status of abortion services in India and the discursive
association of abortion with sex-selective abortion, it is imperative to reevaluate legal
solutions to the issue of sex-selective abortion5

5
K.Kannan, Medicine & Law(Oxford Publishers), Pg.366

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 7. CONCLUSION

Taken together, an investigation of the institutional dynamics of sex-selection in India reveals that
the issue is inextricably linked to state population control policies, the unregulated use of medical
reproductive technology, and the limitations of a legal approach in solving the problem. Evidently,
state and medical institutions that facilitate the preponderance of sex-selection cannot be viewed in
isolation.

Specifically, the narrow rights based perspective embodied by the legal intervention overlooks the
consequences of criminalizing female perpetrators of sex-selection, the issue of female "choice" in
sex-selection, and the inextricable link between sex-selective abortion and abortion. While the law,
as an institutional force, condemns sex-selection, it does not probe the underlying social
constructions and conditions that facilitate sex-selection.

An important conclusion of this study is that women have preferences over both the number of
children they have and the sex composition of these children. This leads to a trade-off between the
cost—both monetary and psychological—of sex selection and the cost of children. Previous research
was unable to explain why higher education increased sex selection in India because it failed to tie
the use of sex selection to the fertility decision.

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 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Prof. M. Lakshmipathi Raju, Women Empowerment

 https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/Preventing_gender-
biased_sex_selection.pdf
 V.Prabhakar, Pre-Natal and Sex Determination, (Kamal Publishers, New Delhi, India,2008)

 https://www.mcgill.ca/msr/files/msr/nagpal_v3.pdf
 K.Kannan, Medicine & Law(Oxford Publishers), Pg.366

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