Womb woe

This is a welcome move because it decriminalises the process and will put an end to unnecessary prosecution of medical personnel. The ban was aimed at arresting the alarming deaths of female fetuses but after 20 years it is nowhere from achieving its intended goal. The new approach being considered is to make the test mandatory and then track mothers carrying female fetuses. The principle behind this approach is sound, but given the size of the country’s population and the limited tracking facilities, one wonders if it will work as well as thought out. Coupled with this approach is a suggestion to ban home deliveries as there is a growing pile of evidence to show that female foeticide is more likely to occur at home than in a hospital. But this could create more problems because not all mothers have access to hospitals and emergencies do not always arise in medical facilities. In this respect some leeway will have to be created to include all kinds of emergencies, or else it could be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Nonetheless, this suggestion to lift the ban must pass the Union Cabinet test because it is more implementable than a ban which has not worked.