Female feticide & Neural Tube Defects

Dear Dr. Meeta Singh,
Please consider the following and favor with an early reply

NEURAL TUBE DEFECT
4 Dr. Kabra’s study ( Medicine Deranged 1998) Panchsheel Prakashan, Jaipur
4 May 1992—April 1993 Zanana and Mahila Chikatsalya, Med. Coll. Jaipur
4 Total Births-- 15346
4 Live Births 14,682
4 Still Births 724 (50/1000 live births)
4 Cong. Anomalies 115 (8/1000 live births)
4 Neural Tube Defect (NTD) 96 (83%) F = 62(65%)
4 M = 30(31%)
4 NR = 4
4 Other 19(17%)

I. There is prevalent rate of 50 still births per 1000 live births in the premier hospitals.
- Intra uterine death occurs in late third trimester.
- The dead child is aborted and disposed off.
- Almost half of them are female fetuses.
- Does it constitute female feticide under the MTP Act. ?

II. About 100 children are born with gross neural tube defect (NTD) i.e. brainlessness (anencephaly)
- They die after birth and are allowed to die.
- Almost 70 of them are females.
- Does delivering and disposing off these brainless female feticides constitute female feticide under the MTP Act.

CONG. ANOMALY & NTD.
4 24 Maternity Centre Jaipur including Zanana and Mahila Chikitsalya
4 Total Deliveries 23450
4 Live Births 22618
4 Still Births 832(37/1000 live births)
4 Cong. Anomalies 143(6/1000 live births)

4 Ultra Sound May 1992-April 1993
4 Total 111,127
4 Cong. Anomalies 55 (5/1000 Ultra Sound)
4 Neural Tube Defect 52
4 Other 3

- At the two premier zanana hospitals of the state, for about 1 lakh sonography
examinations done every year, about 50 NTDs (mostly brainless) are detected in
second trimester of pregnancy.
- 70-80% of them are known on ultrasound examination to be females.
- Does the medical termination of these known female fetuses constitute violation
of the PCPNDT Act/ the MTP Act/ IPC 312 ?

Since you have a very powerful legal cell in your organization advising state authorities in the matter I seek your clarification so that the doctors authorized to undertake MTPs are advised accordingly.

Thanking you

Yours truly,

Dr.S.G.Kabra