Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based on the predicted sex of the infant. The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act was enacted in 1994 to ban sex-selective abortion and stop female foeticide. However, abortion and female foeticide are often thought of in combination by the general public.
So, will giving complete autonomy to women to choose whether they want to continue with their pregnancy worsen the female foeticide rate in India?
“When one thinks of abortion, they think it is being done to kill the female foetus. One has to note that 80 percent of abortions in India take place within the first 12 weeks, within days after the person finds about their pregnancy. It is medically not possible to determine the sex of the foetus within this time frame. Therefore, complete autonomy should be granted,” says Pyne.
However, Dr Jain warns…