Chennai: Couple held for performing illegal abortions

Chennai: The Tiruvannamalai police have arrested a couple for allegedly performing illegal abortions for about 4000 women over a period of ten years.

The man and wife, both educated up to class 10, had a full-fledged abortion clinic hidden behind the provision store that they were running as a front to their thriving illegal practice as abortionists, district collector K. S. Kandasamy told reporters. According to police sources, a team of community health workers in Thiruvannamalai had visited the house of one Sumathi in the temple town to verify her health status as she had earlier approached the local public health centre (PHC) seeking abortion since she already had three children. The PHC doctors sent her away saying she was beyond the permissible stage of pregnancy and any attempt to abort the fetus could endanger her own life.

The health workers were shocked to find that Sumathi was convalescing at home after undergoing abortion illegally at the ‘clinic’ rub by the quake couple behind their provision store near the ‘Isanya Lingam’ temple near the Giri Valayam. The police and district administration was alerted after that.

Quizzing Sumathi led the cops to the ‘clinic’ of the couple, retired nurse Kavitha and her 10th class dropout Prabhu. The police team was shocked to find a full-fledged abortion clinic being run behind that provision store.

Police suspect that the couple has been running their ‘clinic’ for at least ten years and about 4,000 women have been aborted by them. “We have sealed the provision store and the illegal abortion clinic with all its medicines and instruments. Stern action will be taken against these offenders”, said Collector Kandasamy.