Govt cracks down on illegal abortions; 32 FIRs filed in July
In a decisive crackdown on illegal abortion practices, Haryana has registered 32 FIRs and arrested 32 individuals in the month of July alone. The action comes as a result of reverse tracking of medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) and abortion cases beyond 12 weeks — especially in cases where the woman already has one or more daughters.
The information was shared during the weekly meeting of the State Task Force (STF) on Improving Sex Ratio, held under the chairmanship of Sudhir Rajpal, Additional Chief Secretary, Health.
Emphasising the need for stringent enforcement, Rajpal directed officials to take strong punitive action, including revoking the licences of doctors found involved in unlawful abortions.
“We are implementing reverse tracking of all MTP and abortion cases beyond 12 weeks, particularly where women already have one or more daughters,” he said.
He said FIRs are under process in four additional cases, while 38 notices have been issued to private hospitals and clinics for suspected violations.
In a unique move aimed at promoting gender equality, the Additional Chief Secretary announced that the transgender community will be involved in celebrating the birth of girls, much like their traditional visits for male children.
As part of the initiative, members of the transgender community will visit households where a girl child is born and present a certificate for a Rs 21,000 bond invested with LIC under the ‘Aapki Beti Hamari Beti’ scheme.
“The Haryana Government will incentivise the transgender community for this role, with a proposed minimum amount of Rs 1,100 to be given to each participant,” Rajpal said.
“The campaign will be supervised by the respective Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in each district,” he added.
Rajpal also ordered a strict crackdown on IVF centres suspected of conducting sex-determination tests and facilitating illegal abortions.
“All IVF implantations must be registered under Antenatal Care (ANC) for improved surveillance,” he directed.
He further instructed the police department to coordinate closely with Health Department teams to track illegal abortion centres and arrest those involved. A progress report on the FIRs registered so far has also been sought by next week.
The Woman and Child Development Department informed that an awareness advertisement on the ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ campaign is under production and will soon be screened in cinema halls across the state.
The meeting concluded on an encouraging note, with officials reporting that Haryana’s sex ratio has improved to 907 (from January 1 to July 31 this year), up from 899 during the same period last year.
Haryana Tribune