Haryana is notorious for having one of the lowest sex ratio of 877 (measured as number of females per 1000 males) as per the census of 2011. One of the main reasons for this low gender ratio is female foeticide. People try to use sex determination tests during early pregnancy and resort to female foeticide. Despite the implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, which has been amended from time to time to make it more strict, there has hardly been much improvement in the sex ratio in Haryana. Now, Haryana Government is considering a proposal to frame a law under which registration of pregnancy will be made compulsory.
As per a PTI report, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij has said that legal opinion is being sought to take action if one does not get pregnancy registered within first three months.
It is pertinent to mention that under the above Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, there is a prohibition on sex-selection and also a prohibition on sex-determination during pregnancy. Moreover, even the sale of the ultrasound machines, which are generally used for sex-determination, is also heavily regulated. Centres having ultrasound machine(s) are required to be registered and are regulated. Likewise, Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic are also regulated under the above law.
In addition, under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, there is a prohibition on the termination of a pregnancy if it exceeds beyond 20 weeks. It is pertinent to mention that usually the earliest when the sex-determination test can be conducted using the ultrasound machines is about 18-20 weeks.
However, in spite of all these measures, the sex ratio in some of the states in India, such as in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi, has not improved much due to social prejudices against female child.
So, let us hope that the new proposed measure of registering the pregnancy during the first 3 months of the pregnancy could become successful, though it is not sure how practical it would be. It is so because even the registration of births (which can be verified) is not made always, even though it is compulsory under law. Registration of pregnancy within first 3 months may or may not fully succeed since it may be difficult to verify and it may depend more on the sweet will of the persons concerned. Yet, any efforts made to improve the sex ratio deserve to be applauded. Under the proposed law, it may perhaps have to be made necessary on the part of the hospitals also to report about such pregnancies (wherever they are consulted by a pregnant woman), in addition to the duty of registration of pregnancy being cast on the pregnant woman and on her husband.
