An investigation into suspected sex-selective abortions has been launched in northern India after government data indicated that not one girl had been born in 132 villages in the last three months.
Authorities said the information was “alarming” in a culture where boys are seen as future breadwinners.
Last year, an Indian government report found that millions of women were statistically “missing” from the country’s population due to a preference for male children.
‘Shocking’
Legislative Assembly Member Gopal Rawat said: “It is shocking to have a zero girl child birth rate in 132 villages in the district”.
“I have directed the health department to find out the real cause of such alarming figures and to take serious action to resolve it.”
He added authorities would also launch “a massive awareness campaign” about sex-selective abortion.
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Earlier this year, research from the National University of Singapore indicated that sex-selective abortions may have resulted in the deaths of more than 23 million girls around the world.
The figures, reported in the New Scientist, demonstrated that since sex-selective abortion became readily available in the 1970s, male births dominated in twelve countries.
The majority of “missing” females are in China and India.
Broken Abortion Act
In 2015, Westminster rejected the opportunity to make sex-selective abortion explicitly illegal in UK law as MPs voted against an amendment tabled by Fiona Bruce.
MPs voted against the proposal by 292 to 201.
Commenting on the vote, Fiona Bruce said: “This vote showed what we all know but nobody wants to admit. The Abortion Act, which was drafted to permit abortion in serious circumstances, is broken beyond repair.”