Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0b5f853fa0-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0b5f853fa0-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f0b5f853fa0-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0b5f853fa0-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0b5f853fa0-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0b5f853fa0-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f0b5f853fa0-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f0b5f853fa0-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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-The Telegraph&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&amp;quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Telegraph, 3 February, 2016, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160203/jsp/nation/story_67276.jsp#.VrFh0VI1t_k&#039;,
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-The Telegraph

New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&amp;quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-The Telegraph&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&amp;quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Telegraph, 3 February, 2016, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160203/jsp/nation/story_67276.jsp#.VrFh0VI1t_k&#039;,
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-The Telegraph

New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise...&#039;
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Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Telegraph

New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise..."/>
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                <strong>Outrage at sex test proposal</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Telegraph<br /><br /><em>New Delhi: </em>Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.<br /><br />They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.<br /><br />&quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.<br /><br />Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.<br /><br />&quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&quot; she said.<br /><br />The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor's Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.<br /><br />&quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&quot; a statement by Maneka's ministry -- women and child development -- said.<br /><br />Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.<br /><br />&quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&quot; said Bedi. &quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&quot; he added.<br /><br />India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.<br /><br />The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.<br /><br />However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.<br /><br />Some doctors warn that India's 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &quot;transfer the responsibility&quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.<br /><br />A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.<br /><br />&quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.<br /><br />&quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&quot; Bhatt said.<br /><br />This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.<br /><br />In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government's Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &quot;personal view&quot; and &quot;not a policy statement&quot;.<br /><br />Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka's idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.</div>               </font>
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-The Telegraph&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&amp;quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Telegraph, 3 February, 2016, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160203/jsp/nation/story_67276.jsp#.VrFh0VI1t_k&#039;,
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-The Telegraph

New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&amp;quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 30430,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Outrage at sex test proposal&#039;,
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-The Telegraph&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&amp;quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Telegraph, 3 February, 2016, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160203/jsp/nation/story_67276.jsp#.VrFh0VI1t_k&#039;,
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-The Telegraph

New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise...&#039;
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Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Telegraph

New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise..."/>
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                <strong>Outrage at sex test proposal</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Telegraph<br /><br /><em>New Delhi: </em>Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.<br /><br />They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.<br /><br />&quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.<br /><br />Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.<br /><br />&quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&quot; she said.<br /><br />The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor's Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.<br /><br />&quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&quot; a statement by Maneka's ministry -- women and child development -- said.<br /><br />Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.<br /><br />&quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&quot; said Bedi. &quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&quot; he added.<br /><br />India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.<br /><br />The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.<br /><br />However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.<br /><br />Some doctors warn that India's 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &quot;transfer the responsibility&quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.<br /><br />A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.<br /><br />&quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.<br /><br />&quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&quot; Bhatt said.<br /><br />This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.<br /><br />In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government's Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &quot;personal view&quot; and &quot;not a policy statement&quot;.<br /><br />Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka's idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.</div>               </font>
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-The Telegraph&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&amp;quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-The Telegraph

New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&amp;quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. 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	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
-The Telegraph&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&amp;quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.
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-The Telegraph

New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Telegraph&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi&#039;s idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&amp;quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&amp;quot; she said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor&#039;s Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&amp;quot; a statement by Maneka&#039;s ministry -- women and child development -- said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&amp;quot; said Bedi. &amp;quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&amp;quot; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some doctors warn that India&#039;s 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &amp;quot;transfer the responsibility&amp;quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&amp;quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&amp;quot; Bhatt said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government&#039;s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &amp;quot;personal view&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;not a policy statement&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka&#039;s idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Telegraph

New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise..."/>
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                <strong>Outrage at sex test proposal</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Telegraph<br /><br /><em>New Delhi: </em>Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.<br /><br />They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.<br /><br />&quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.<br /><br />Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.<br /><br />&quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&quot; she said.<br /><br />The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor's Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.<br /><br />&quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&quot; a statement by Maneka's ministry -- women and child development -- said.<br /><br />Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.<br /><br />&quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&quot; said Bedi. &quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&quot; he added.<br /><br />India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.<br /><br />The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.<br /><br />However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.<br /><br />Some doctors warn that India's 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &quot;transfer the responsibility&quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.<br /><br />A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.<br /><br />&quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.<br /><br />&quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&quot; Bhatt said.<br /><br />This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.<br /><br />In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government's Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &quot;personal view&quot; and &quot;not a policy statement&quot;.<br /><br />Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka's idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.</div>               </font>
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-The Telegraph<br />
<br />
<em>New Delhi: </em>Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.<br />
<br />
They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.<br />
<br />
&quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.<br />
<br />
Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.<br />
<br />
&quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&quot; she said.<br />
<br />
The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor's Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.<br />
<br />
&quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&quot; a statement by Maneka's ministry -- women and child development -- said.<br />
<br />
Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.<br />
<br />
&quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&quot; said Bedi. &quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&quot;<br />
<br />
&quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&quot; he added.<br />
<br />
India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.<br />
<br />
The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.<br />
<br />
However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.<br />
<br />
Some doctors warn that India's 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &quot;transfer the responsibility&quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.<br />
<br />
A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.<br />
<br />
&quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.<br />
<br />
&quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&quot; Bhatt said.<br />
<br />
This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.<br />
<br />
In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government's Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &quot;personal view&quot; and &quot;not a policy statement&quot;.<br />
<br />
Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka's idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.
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New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise...',
	'disp' => '<div align="justify">-The Telegraph<br /><br /><em>New Delhi: </em>Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.<br /><br />They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.<br /><br />&quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.<br /><br />Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.<br /><br />&quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&quot; she said.<br /><br />The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor's Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.<br /><br />&quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&quot; a statement by Maneka's ministry -- women and child development -- said.<br /><br />Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.<br /><br />&quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&quot; said Bedi. &quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&quot; he added.<br /><br />India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.<br /><br />The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.<br /><br />However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.<br /><br />Some doctors warn that India's 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &quot;transfer the responsibility&quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.<br /><br />A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.<br /><br />&quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.<br /><br />&quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&quot; Bhatt said.<br /><br />This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.<br /><br />In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government's Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &quot;personal view&quot; and &quot;not a policy statement&quot;.<br /><br />Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka's idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.</div>',
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-The Telegraph<br />
<br />
<em>New Delhi: </em>Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.<br />
<br />
They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.<br />
<br />
&quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.<br />
<br />
Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.<br />
<br />
&quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&quot; she said.<br />
<br />
The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor's Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.<br />
<br />
&quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&quot; a statement by Maneka's ministry -- women and child development -- said.<br />
<br />
Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.<br />
<br />
&quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&quot; said Bedi. &quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&quot;<br />
<br />
&quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&quot; he added.<br />
<br />
India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.<br />
<br />
The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.<br />
<br />
However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.<br />
<br />
Some doctors warn that India's 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &quot;transfer the responsibility&quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.<br />
<br />
A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.<br />
<br />
&quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.<br />
<br />
&quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&quot; Bhatt said.<br />
<br />
This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.<br />
<br />
In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government's Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &quot;personal view&quot; and &quot;not a policy statement&quot;.<br />
<br />
Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka's idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.
</div>',
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-The Telegraph

New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise...'
$disp = '<div align="justify">-The Telegraph<br /><br /><em>New Delhi: </em>Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice.<br /><br />They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws.<br /><br />&quot;This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life,&quot; said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades.<br /><br />Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet.<br /><br />&quot;There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female,&quot; she said.<br /><br />The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor's Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter.<br /><br />&quot;She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions,&quot; a statement by Maneka's ministry -- women and child development -- said.<br /><br />Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding.<br /><br />&quot;At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli,&quot; said Bedi. &quot;This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs,&quot; he added.<br /><br />India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy.<br /><br />The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities.<br /><br />However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country.<br /><br />Some doctors warn that India's 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would &quot;transfer the responsibility&quot; of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime.<br /><br />A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus.<br /><br />&quot;Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion,&quot; Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India.<br /><br />&quot;There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities,&quot; Bhatt said.<br /><br />This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide.<br /><br />In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government's Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a &quot;personal view&quot; and &quot;not a policy statement&quot;.<br /><br />Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka's idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.</div>'
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Outrage at sex test proposal

-The Telegraph New Delhi: Doctors have expressed surprise at Union minister Maneka Gandhi's idea of mandatory prenatal sex disclosure with some medics warning that such a move could lead to a steep increase in the abortions of female foetuses and legitimise a criminal practice. They say the idea to reveal the sex of an unborn foetus to every woman presumably to track any attempt to selectively abort female foetuses would provide couples a medical loophole to abort unwanted foetuses not available under current laws. "This is the strangest, most bizarre idea I have ever heard in my life," said Puneet Bedi, a gynaecologist and foetal medicine specialist at the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital, New Delhi, who has been campaigning against female foeticide for nearly three decades. Maneka today clarified that making such tests mandatory was neither a formal proposal being considered by the ministry at this stage nor has the issue been raised by her in cabinet. "There is an alternative point of view that if each pregnancy could be registered and the sex of the foetus could be made known to the parents and if the same happens to be a female, the delivery should be tracked and recorded. Such a system would help in ensuring that a foetus is not aborted only because it is a female," she said. The minister added that this view was held by some stakeholders and she happened to mention it in the Regional Editor's Conference in Jaipur yesterday to start a discussion on the matter. "She had specifically stated that this needs further debate and had requested the media persons to give their suggestions," a statement by Maneka's ministry -- women and child development -- said. Bedi has cautioned that when couples intent on not having a female child learn about the sex of the foetus, they could buy abortion-inducing drugs and approach doctors when the woman develop symptoms such as bleeding. "At this point, doctors would not be able to deny treatment to the woman and the abortion would be a fait accompli," said Bedi. "This would be a dangerous move and female foeticide will spiral upwards - all blame shifts to parents, with doctors escaping blame." "And there is no way a doctor can determine whether it is spontaneous abortion or has been induced by drugs," he added. India has been fighting selective abortion of female foetuses for over two decades. The proliferation of ultrasound scanning technology since the late-1980s and 1990s has contributed to a fall in the number of girls born in the country. Female foeticide is driven by traditional preferences for a boy. The Union government passed a law in 1994, banning prenatal sex determination. While all pregnant women are advised to undergo periodic ultrasound scans, doctors are not expected to reveal the gender of the foetus to the woman but merely advise an abortion if they detect foetal abnormalities. However, the 2011 census data and occasional sting operations by health activists suggest that the practice of prenatal sex disclosure and selective female foeticide continues in many parts of the country. Some doctors warn that India's 27 million annual births would make tracking every pregnancy a logistic nightmare. They also say that mandatory disclosure of prenatal sex would "transfer the responsibility" of female foeticide to the pregnant woman, allowing doctors to evade any responsbility for what is currently a crime. A gynaecologist said mandatory disclosure would also make it difficult for them to determine whether couples are opting for abortion because the pregnancy was a genuine unwanted pregnancy or because they want to abort a female foetus. "Under the current law, there is a presumption of ignorance about the sex of the foetus when couples approach us for abortion," Hitesh Bhatt, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist and the chair of the ethics and legal committee of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India. "There are cases of foetal malformations and congenital abnormalities where abortions are advised - under mandatory disclosure, gynaceologists may find themselves in a position to explain why they assisted in the abortion of every female foetus, even one with abnormalities," Bhatt said. This is not the first time that Maneka has raised this alternative method to check female foeticide. In January last year, Maneka, while speaking at a workshop in Haryana ahead of the launch of the Narendra Modi government's Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign had suggested the same method to check foeticide. Later that year, she had clarified her stand in Parliament and said that making sex determination tests mandatory to check foeticide was a "personal view" and "not a policy statement". Sources have indicated that the ministry is still mulling a comprehensive paper to plug all gaps in Maneka's idea so that such disclosures are not abused, before it is presented to other concerned ministries, civil society groups or the medical community for further deliberations.