From Mani Imaging Clinic-Mumbai: The sonologist and the sex ratio: Who is to blame? ("problem is deep rooted and society is to blame")

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23162255

Indian J Radiol Imaging. 2012 Apr;22(2):123-4. doi: 10.4103/0971-3026.101095.

The sonologist and the sex ratio: Who is to blame?

Mani S, Thakker J.

Source

Mani Imaging Clinic, 1 Floor, Jain Arcade, Above Costa Coffee & Saroj Fabrics, Khar (W), Mumbai-400052, India. E-mail: mani.imaging@gmail.com.

In 1994, the Government of India passed the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) (PC-PNDT) Act with the aim of preventing female feticide. The implementation of this Act was slow and almost non-existent. A further dip in the sex ratio in the census of 2001 led to the act getting amended, and replaced in 2002 by the Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act (The Act).

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While the arrangement seems well aligned and likely to work, the recent census in 2011 has revealed a further dip in the female sex ratio [female (F): male (M): 914:1000]. While strict implementation of the PC-PNDT Act may catch clerical errors in Form F filling and lead to sealing of machines of radiologists and gynecologists, the problem is far beyond simply catching those who inaccurately fill their Form F.

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Although the sonologist is in the spotlight, this problem is deep rooted and society is to blame. When there is a demand for sex determination and the unfortunate elimination of an unwanted female child, there has to be a strong national approach that involves society. A recent article by Prof. Prabhat Jha inThe Lancet, while interpreting data over the last 20 years, has shown that selective abortions of girls specially for pregnancies after a first-born girl, has increased substantially in India.[3] In fact, sex selection is taking place among Asians even in Western countries like the USA and UK, and has forced the US to introduce a new legislation called the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) this year, that bans sex selective abortions.

This malaise has taken root, and society needs to be warned that trying to detect the sex of the fetus is a crime. This has to be done using wide-ranging methods including articles and interviews in the media, as well as in cinema halls and on television. The awareness of this program should percolate deep down into societies and households, and the message that the guilty party could be imprisoned and jailed should come through. A multipronged approach with cohesion between doctors, the government, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) is the way forward to improve the female sex ratio in our country.