Upto 12mn girls aborted in India in last 30 years--survey

In India, there is a massive cultural preference for boys. Girls are seen more as financial burdens whereas boys are seen as bringing wealth to the family.

Because of the financial difficulties involved in the getting the girls married and having to pay expensive dowries, many Indian families are averse to having girls in the family.

The recent report in the medical journal 'Lancet' has found a trend among many Indian families where another girl child is aborted if there is already a girl in the family.

Chances of abortion higher in families that already have a girl
As soon as prenatal tests show that a subsequent pregnancy is going to bring a girl, an abortion is done to prevent another girl from entering the family and potentially increasing the financial burden.

Strangely, it was found that this trend is more pronounced in richer and more educated families in India than in rural ones. One reason for this could be the fact that abortions are expensive and affluent Indian households are more easily able to afford it.

Experts have pointed out that the current laws against pre-natal sex determination and dowry have been woefully inadequate in preventing female infanticide.

According to the report, about 4 million to 12 million girls have so far been aborted in India over the last 30 years.

Data released by the Indian consensus in March shows that there are 914 girls under the age of six for every 1000 boys. 10 years ago, it was 927 girls for every 1000 boys.

Rich and educated families doing 'it' more
After doing a detailed study of census data and nearly 250,000 birth records, the researchers found that the gap between girls and boys is more pronounced in families that already have a girl.

Lead author Professor Prabhat Jha at the Center for Global Health Research in Toronto, Canada, explained that educated families are better able to get abortions done because they have the knowledge and means.