The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has roped in doctors pulled up on technical grounds under the stringent anti-sex determination and female foeticide laws to spread awareness in the medical fraternity about these legal provisions.
The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has roped in doctors pulled up on technical grounds under the stringent anti-sex determination and female foeticide laws to spread awareness in the medical fraternity about these legal provisions.
MMC president Dr Kishor Taori told dna that this was the first time such an initiative was being launched by a medical council.
According to Dr Shivkumar Utture, executive committee member of the MMC, the doctors they had involved in their initiative will be counseled to teach radiologists and gynaecologists the do's and dont's at conferences and workshops. "They will spread the word on what should not be done under the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act of 1994 (PCPNDT)," said Dr Utture, adding that suspended doctors were not part of the exercise.
"These cases are basically (made out) on technical grounds. They are not doctors caught in sting operations or (accused of) female foeticide," said Dr Utture.
The crackdown against illegal sex determination and female foeticide has seen around 70 medical practitioners being convicted for offenses like declaring the sex of the foetus and non-registration of centres. The MMC has taken action against 46 doctors ranging from removal of registration, suspension of registration and suspension of registration till further orders of the courts and appellate courts for violating the provisions of the PCPNDT.
Dr Utture said that technical lapses on the part of doctors included not filling up the F form (which contains details of the pregnant woman and investigations conducted) properly or omitting a clause and not putting up a proper board stating that sex-determination tests were not being conducted.
Female foeticide leads to an unhealthy sex ratio. Maharashtra's sex ratio declined from 934 in 1991 to 922 in 2001, but marginally rose to 925 in 2011. In contrast, India's sex ratio has increased from 927 in 1991 to 933 in 2011 and 940 in 2011. The state's child sex ratio (between 0 and 6 years) has fallen from 946 in 1991 to 913 in 2001 and 883 in 2011.
Shockingly, the health department's estimates that Maharashtra may have seen around 4,68,680 female foeticide cases between 2001 and 2011, including 30,116 in Mumbai.
According to the state health department's figures, while around 66 doctors and five relatives were convicted in 62 court cases, 50 of these doctors were sentenced to imprisonment in 46 cases and the remaining 16 were fined.
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