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Make sex determination tests mandatory: Maharashtra Public Accounts Committee

The PAC report, which was submitted to the Assembly on Friday, has also detected many lacunae in the implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, (PCPNDT) 1994.

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In a radical suggestion, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Maharashtra Assembly has recommended making pre-natal sex determination mandatory to prevent gender-selective abortions. It called for monitoring pregnant women to check whether they have aborted while aiming to shift the onus of female foeticide to the parents.

The PAC report, which was submitted to the Assembly on Friday, has also detected many lacunae in the implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, (PCPNDT) 1994.

"When parents come for sonography, compulsory sex determination must be allowed and follow-ups must be done at the local level to ensure that the couple comes for further check-ups. It is necessary to visit these couples at home if they stop check-ups once they are told that the foetus is that of a girl child," said the PAC, which is headed by Gopaldas Agarwal, senior Congress legislator from Gondia.

"Since the law only provides for action against doctors, there is no control over parents. But this fear of law among parents is necessary to increase the girl child's numbers. Doctors, parents, District Health Officers (DHOs) and NGOs must be involved in the tracking mechanism," the committee suggested.

In March, the Sangli police busted an inter-state sex determination and foeticide racket and arrested homeopath Babasaheb Khidrapure from Mhaisal. The police, who were investigating the death of a 26-year-old woman following medical termination of pregnancy (MTP), also recovered 19 dumped foetuses.

"When parents come for sonography, doctors can determine the sex of the foetus. This must be disclosed to parents and registered officially... in case of a girl child, monitoring must be conducted," Agarwal told DNA. "The PCPNDT Act lodges cases against doctors for minor violations... causing immense trouble for them," he said.

Last year, Union Woman and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi had suggested making child sex determination and registration during pregnancy mandatory and tracking the birth to prevent female foeticide.

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