Nationwide protest against PCPNDT provisions

Doctors in the city refused to conduct sonographies on pregnant women on Wednesday. They claimed that the government was taking a harsh stand against their fraternity by jailing medicos under the pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostics (PCPNDT) act, which works against female foeticide and illegal abortions in the state. Close to 25,000 sonographies related to pregnancy occur in Mumbai every day.

Indian Sonologists and Gynaecologists Association declared a one-day protest across the country. More than 6,000 doctors across 30 districts of Maharashtra participated in the agitation, with about 500 doctors from Mumbai gathering at Azad Maidan to register their protest.

Last month, eight doctors from Pune were jailed for one year for not maintaining proper paper work under Form F of the PCPNDT Act.

"The state and city vigilance committees look for minor mistakes in Form F, like not putting mobile numbers, or any other lack of details, and seal the machine. We have to go to the court to reverse the order, but the case takes up to 2–3 years to resolve," said Dr Sharad Malvadkar, a radiologist and member of the association.

Dr Ashwini Bhalerao-Gandhi, gynaecologist at PD Hinduja Hospital in Mahim said: "The law has to be amended as soon as possible. Doctors cannot keep suffering and going into jail like this."