This paper examines the introduction, spread and impact of amniocentesis (and more recently other sex-selection technologies) in India roughly since the mid-70s, to isolate the key actors, the driving forces of propulsion, and the historical context for the phenomenon of female foeticide following such tests. An attempt is made to demystify the runaway spread of the practice by comparing it with the emergence of female infanticide, also within the last two decades, in a region and a community with no previous history of such a practice. The two stories are presented as manifestations of the same process - though some of the actors are widely different - in terms of class. culture, ethnic traditions, gender role history, population, geography and exposure to debates on reproductive rights, freedom and the autonomy of choice. In the last section, some questions are raised on these philosophical concepts and their social implications.
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- South Asian Born-Digital NGO Reports Collection Project
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- New Delhi
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- http://www.cwds.ac.in/OCPaper/AmniocentesisVM.pdf
