Medical Body Chief Calls For Legalising Prenatal Gender Determination In India

New Delhi: The president of the  Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr RV Asokan, has voiced strong support for the legalisation of prenatal gender determination tests, saying that the existing prohibition has not significantly improved India’s gender ratio over the past three decades.

Since the enactment of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act in 1994, prenatal gender determination and sex-selective abortions have been illegal in India. This legislation was intended to combat female foeticide and enhance the sex ratio in the country.

Despite this, Asokan expressed scepticism about the law’s efficacy. “After 30 years, what has this law produced? Has it reversed the sex ratio? Not a significant impact. In some places, there may have been (an impact),” he remarked during the golden jubilee celebrations of IMA’s Ponda branch in Goa.

Census data indicates a gradual improvement in India’s sex ratio, which increased from 927 females for every 1,000 males in 1991 to 943 females per 1,000 males in 2011.

Nevertheless, Asokan highlighted that challenges persist and proposed that legalising gender detection could offer better protection for unborn girls by encouraging their full-term delivery.

“The IMA’s central working committee is advocating for sex detection and child protection,” he stated. “We are demanding sex detection and protection of (the unborn) child…tag the child…carry that child to delivery. If anything untoward occurs, then hold people accountable. It’s possible as techno ..technology is available.”

Additionally, the IMA president criticised the current ban for unfairly targeting ultrasound machines and medical professionals, suggesting that the existing framework has created unnecessary challenges in the healthcare sector.