Gender Bender
Dr. Amita Saxena
HOD, Gynae, LBSH
I
t is a matter of grave concern and embarrassment that
today in India we are discussing an issue like female
foeticide. This term in itself envelopes myriads of meaning, it smacks of the fact that (a) a girl is killed before, she
is born; (b) that sex of a foetus is determined to be that of
a female; (c) it acknowledge that there is technology privy
to this heinous crime; (d) there are doctors involved in first
determining the sex of the baby, then carrying out abortion.
detect foetal abnormalities but it
had been used for determining the
sex of the baby. Ultrasound scanning, being a non-invasive technique, quickly gained popularity and
is now available in some of the
most remote rural areas. Both techniques are now being used for sex
determination with the intention of
abortion if the foetus turns out to be
female. These methods do not involve manipulation of genetic material to select the sex of
a baby. Recent pre-conception gender selection (PGS),
however, includes flow cytometry, preimplantation gender
determination of the embryo, and in vitro fertilization to
ensure the birth of a baby of the desired sex without undergoing abortion.
As a result of selective of abortion of female foetuses,
between 35 and 40 millions girls and women are missing
from the Indian population. In some parts of the country,
the sex ratio of girls to boys has dropped to less than 800:
1,000. The United Na ѥ