The PNDT Act came into being in 1994 with the purpose of improving the altered sex ratio in India. It was further amended in 2003 as the PCPNDT act to regulate the technology used in sex selection. The Act banned preconception and prenatal sex determination. Its intent was to curb the actual act of sex selection and female foeticide by regulating the use of ultrasound technology.
WHO in its recent publication has clearly declared that restricting technology was not the way forward. However, despite the Act having been in existence for over 20 years, the altered sex ratio in India has not changed. Instead, it has had two major negative consequences: In its current form, the implementation of the PCPNDT Act has deprived the community of life-saving and essential ultrasonography which has now become an extension of clinical practice for all specialties globally, being a well known…
