Girl Child

Foeticide is the destruction of a fetus in the womb of the mother itself. Ultrasound technology is available using which sex of the child can be determined while the fetus is in the womb and parents who don’t want a girl child undergo this test and then kill the baby in the womb before it is born.

The sex-selective abortion is not at all supportable. ‘Historically, in the absence of genetic testing, infanticide was the only inhumane option for discarding the female child. This heinous practise continues even today in India’s southern parts, where families cannot afford an illegal ultrasound test.

foeticide is the destruction of a fetus in the womb of the mother itself. Ultrasound technology is available using which sex of the child can be determined while the fetus is in the womb and parents who don’t want a girl child undergo this test and then kill the baby in the womb before it is born.

Government and individual institutions are trying their best to deal with this menace.

In India, the Pre-conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (amended in 2003) prohibits sex-selection or disclosure of the sex of the foetus. It also prohibits sale of “any ultrasound machine or any other equipment capable of detecting sex of foetus” to persons, laboratories and clinics not registered under the Act .The government of India also recently launched the ‘BETI BACHAO ,BETI PADHAO’ Movement in order to promote girl education and demote the practice of female foeticide and infanticide.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India has targeted education and media advertisements to reach clinics and medical professionals to increase awareness. The Indian Medical Association has undertaken efforts to prevent prenatal sex selection by giving its members Beti Bachao (save the daughter) badges during its meetings and conferences.