Idea to track pregnant women raises Maharashtra row

Mumbai: Recommendations made by Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Maharashtra Assembly to make pre-natal sex determination and tracking of pregnant women mandatory to keep a track on pregnant women carrying female foetuses has kicked off a storm.

Many women and health rights organisations have condemned the PAC recommendations to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

Kamyani Mahabal, a social activist and lawyer, said, “These recommendations violate the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act itself, and will impinge upon the Medical Termination Of Pregnancy Act as well. It is ironical that such a recommendation is being made in Maharashtra, which pioneered the law to curb sex selection after a long campaign by women and health activists that linked the use of sex selection and sex detection technologies to gender-based discrimination.