Female Foeticide
International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences Vol 1 Issue 1 January 2006
Female Foeticide and Infanticide in India: An Analysis of Crimes against Girl Children
Sneh Lata Tandon1 and Renu Sharma2
University of Delhi, Delhi, India Abstract Sex selective abortions and increase in the number of female infanticide cases have become a significant social phenomenon in several parts of India. It transcends all castes, class and communities and even the North South dichotomy. The girl children become target of attack even before they are born. Numerous scholars have observed that the latest advances in modern medical sciences – the tests like Amniocentesis and Ultra-sonography which were originally designed for detection of congenital abnormalities of the foetus, are being misused for knowing the sex of the foetus with the intention of aborting it if it happens to be that of a female. The worst situation is when these abortions are carried out well beyond the safe period of 12 weeks endangering the women’s life. This paper theoretically analyses the magnitude of the incidence of female foeticide and infanticide in India. __________________________________________________________________ Keywords: Foeticide; Infanticide; Ultra-sonography; sex selective abortion; crimes against girl children __________________________________________________________________ Female Foeticide Incidence and Magnitude Sex selective abortions cases have become a significant social phenomenon in several parts of India. It transcends all castes, class and communities and even the North South dichotomy. The girl children become target of attack even before they are born. Diaz, (1988) states that in a well-known Abortion Centre in Mumbai, after undertaking the sex determination tests, out of the 15,914 abortions performed during 1984-85 almost 100 per cent were those of girl foetuses. Similarly, a survey report of women’s centre in Mumbai found that out of 8,000 foetuses aborted in six city
Female Foeticide and Infanticide in India: An Analysis of Crimes against Girl Children
Sneh Lata Tandon1 and Renu Sharma2
University of Delhi, Delhi, India Abstract Sex selective abortions and increase in the number of female infanticide cases have become a significant social phenomenon in several parts of India. It transcends all castes, class and communities and even the North South dichotomy. The girl children become target of attack even before they are born. Numerous scholars have observed that the latest advances in modern medical sciences – the tests like Amniocentesis and Ultra-sonography which were originally designed for detection of congenital abnormalities of the foetus, are being misused for knowing the sex of the foetus with the intention of aborting it if it happens to be that of a female. The worst situation is when these abortions are carried out well beyond the safe period of 12 weeks endangering the women’s life. This paper theoretically analyses the magnitude of the incidence of female foeticide and infanticide in India. __________________________________________________________________ Keywords: Foeticide; Infanticide; Ultra-sonography; sex selective abortion; crimes against girl children __________________________________________________________________ Female Foeticide Incidence and Magnitude Sex selective abortions cases have become a significant social phenomenon in several parts of India. It transcends all castes, class and communities and even the North South dichotomy. The girl children become target of attack even before they are born. Diaz, (1988) states that in a well-known Abortion Centre in Mumbai, after undertaking the sex determination tests, out of the 15,914 abortions performed during 1984-85 almost 100 per cent were those of girl foetuses. Similarly, a survey report of women’s centre in Mumbai found that out of 8,000 foetuses aborted in six city
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