Indian-origin doctor summoned by UK court over gender-based abortion
Dr Sivaraman is facing allegations under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act
London: In a first in UK, an Indian-origin woman doctor has been summoned by a court after allegedly been caught on camera agreeing to carry out an abortion based on the sex of the unborn baby.
The summons to Prabha Sivaraman, 46, to appear before a Manchester court next month comes days after British MPs voted overwhelmingly to declare gender abortion illegal, following claims that the current law was unclear on the issue. Ms Sivaraman is facing allegations under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act.
The South Yorkshire-based Indian was one of the two doctors purportedly filmed agreeing to arrange terminations because of the gender of the foetus, during an investigation carried out in 2012 by 'The Telegraph' newspaper.
Ms Sivaraman, who worked for private clinics and National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in Manchester at the time of the investigation, was allegedly recorded telling a woman, "I don't ask questions. If you want a termination, you want a termination."
A court in Birmingham is due to hold a hearing in January to decide whether to issue a separate summons against Dr Palaniappan Rajmohan.
Dr Rajmohan was purportedly filmed at the Calthorpe Clinic in Edgbaston, Birmingham, agreeing to conduct the procedure even though he told the undercover reporter "It's like female infanticide, isn't it?"
This is part of a rare private prosecution brought by a pro-life campaigner and supported by the Christian Legal Centre after the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) advised against charging Ms Sivaraman.
Court documents state that Ms Sivaraman faces an allegation of "conspiracy to procure poison to be used with intent to procure abortion."
A court official confirmed that the summons had been issued with a provisional date in early December.
Abortion is legal in mainland Britain under the 1967 Abortion Act, which permits terminations in certain circumstances, most commonly where two doctors agree that continuing the pregnancy could more be harmful to the woman or her existing children than ending it.
Some abortion providers claim the law is "silent" on the question of gender, but the prosecution is based on the argument that because it is not a ground under the Act and therefore is illegal.