| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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Figure 1.1. Sex ratio of the 0- to 6-year-old population, India.
Sources. DasGupta and Bhatt (1997); and Registrar General of India (2001).
The availability first of amniocentesis in the late 1970s (Ramanama & Bambawale, 1980 as cited in Ganatra, Hirve, & Rao, 2001) followed by more widespread use of ultrasound in the early to mid-1980s to selectively abort female fetuses (Claycraft, 1989) corresponds in time to the sharp decline in the relative number of Indian girls, suggesting that sex-selective abortion is likely to be a substantial contributing factor. As shown in Appendix Figure A.1.1, estimates of the sex ratio at birth in India have increased during the 1990s, especially among higher order births and among births in urban areas to more educated mothers. In an attempt to eliminate the practice of sex-selective abortion, the government of India passed legislation in 1994 banning prenatal sex-determination testing. The Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act of 1994 went into effect in January 1996; however, it has not been enforced effectively. Private ultrasound clinics have proliferated, and mobile clinics have made prenatal sex determination increasingly available in rural areas.