Prohibiting Amniocentesis in India: A Solution to the Problem of Female Infanticide or a Problem to the Solution of Prenatal Diagnosis
![handle is hein.journals/ilsa14 and id is 27 raw text is: PROHIBITING AMNIOCENTESIS IN INDIA:* A
SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF FEMALE
INFANTICIDE OR A PROBLEM TO THE
SOLUTION OF PRENATAL
DIAGNOSIS
Odesa Gorman-Stapleton * *
INTRODUCTION
In April 1988, the Western Indian state of Maharashtal
passed a law which prohibits amniocentesis to determine the sex
of an unborn child.2 The new law only permits amniocentesis3
for women who are 35 years old or above, or who have a medical
or family history predisposed toward the possibility of defects or
disease.4 Its purpose is to prevent the abortion of female fetuses,
an otherwise common practice in India.5 The law is punitive in
part, providing for prison sentences and fines for women and
Focusing on Maharashtra.
** Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Dedicated to my husband, Timothy Staple-
ton, for his constant encouragement and support..
I Bombay was divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960, due to the demand for
linguistic homogeneity by the assemblymen of many Indian states. This resulted in the
redrawing of administrative lines based on the dominant language within each region.
See R.F. NYROP, INDIA: A COUNTRY STUDY 412 (1985).
2 Weisman, No More Guarantees of a Son's Birth, N.Y. Times, July 20, 1988, at Al, col. 2.
The Act is entitled The Maharashtra Regulation of Use of Pre-natal Diagnostic Tech-
niques Act, 1988. Selected provisions are included as an Appendix on page 39 of this
article.
3 Amniocentesis is a test which allows for the analysis of chromosones to determine
the sex of the fetus. This test also reveals fetal health risks. In fact, the Supreme Court
acknowledges that amniocentesis adequately predicts chromosone defects at the prena-
tal stage. See e.g. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 131 (1973). Amniocentesis is one of three
medical techniques through which internal body fluid is extracted and analyzed. Cardi-
ocentesis and thoracentesis are similar techniques. Other techniques used to detect fe-
tal defects, which also may reveal the sex of the fetus, include ultrasound, direct
visualization, biopsy of chronic villi, amniography, radiography, fetography, and mater-
nal serum alpha-phetoprotein determination. See ABORTION, MEDICINE, AND THE LAW
266-72 (J. D. Butler & D. F. Walbert 3d ed. 1986) [hereinafter Butler & Walbert].
4 Weisman, supra note 2, at AI.
5 According to one study, out of 8,000 cases of abortion in Bombay, 7,999 involved
a female fetus. McGowan, In India, They Abort Female Fetuses, NEWSWEEK, Jan. 30, 1989,
at 12, col. 2.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/ilsa14&div=5&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most