On the sly

Obstetric ultrasound...is a non-intrusive method and considered a safe procedure. The current equipment that is used for ultrasound are called real-time scanners that provide a continuous picture of the moving foetus... Ultrasound does not carry with it some of the hazards that amniocentesis and CVS entail, but the chances of the diagnosis being inaccurate are fairly high…

Although a new generation of ultrasound technology has become available recently, which allows trans-abdominal sex determination at an earlier stage of pregnancy, this is still not widely used…This will make early-term sex selective abortion feasible...

The growing availability of pre-conception and pre-implantation diagnosis illustrates the complexity of framing an analysis of sex selection. Three decades ago, the use of prenatal diagnostic technologies was unheard of. In the past two decades the use of ultrasound to screen the foetus has been normalized as an essential part of prenatal care. This can easily be accompanied with sex determination and, in turn, lead to shifts in abortion-seeking behaviour. Sex selection techniques can have a similar effect, resulting in the increased use of in-vitro fertilization for non-medical purposes like sex selection.

Evidence collected in the Eighties indicated widespread prevalence of clinics in urban centres that exclusively perform sex determination...One study (1986) estimated that there were 248 clinics and laboratories, and approximately 16,000 tests performed annually in the Mumbai metropolitan region. In another survey conducted amongst 50 gynaecologists in Mumbai, 27 admitted that they performed amniocentesis for the sole purpose of SD. It was further calculated that on an average, 42 gynaecologists perform 271 SD tests per month...There are reports from Punjab that the state has close to 1,500 ultrasound clinics….This is in all likelihood a conservative estimate, as it has been pointed out that Punjab has one of the highest sex ratios at birth in the world, indicating a very high level of sex-selective abortion…

In Haryana, in one district alone, Faridabad, 65 ultrasound centres have been registered…The Indian Radiology and Imaging Association has 4,000 registered members. Currently, five multinational companies manufacture and sell ultrasound machines in India — Philips, Symonds, Toshiba, Larsen and Toubro and Wipro GE…

The current cost of obtaining an ultrasound test for SD can fluctuate between Rs 500-1,000 ($10-30)...There are reports of the cost going up to $ 85-100...CNN too reported recently that the cost of getting a SD test has doubled in the last few years as a result of the ban...