GURUGRAM: A city-based private
clinic has been accused of offering covert assistance to expecting couples and facilitating gender determination tests as well as medical terminations of fetus (in case of a girl child) abroad.
In his complaint to the health the department on January 12, a man levelled these charges against the clinic in Sector 40 that claims to offer gynaecological and fertility services. The complainant, who had taken a pregnant relative to the clinic for an ultrasound test on January 6, claimed that the doctor there had offered to facilitate an abortion in case of a girl child through her contacts in Dubai.
The complainant, a resident of Matiala in Punjab, had come to visit his brother-in-law and his pregnant wife in Gurugram. The brother-in-law's wife (30), already a mother of a 12-year-old daughter, had suffered two miscarriages in the past. During his stay, he had taken her to the clinic.
"During the test, the doctor asked her whether she desired a boy or a girl child. The doctor also told the patient that her contacts in Dubai would help her getting a
sex determination test done. And in case of a female child, they would also help her get rid of the pregnancy," said the complainant. "Shocked at this proposal, I filed a complaint with the Gurugram health department."
Chief medical officer, Gurugram, B K Rajora has confirmed to have received the complaint. "We will complete the inquiry by the end of next week. And if found guilty, we will take necessary action," he added.
The department has issued a showcause notice to the fertility centre as well as the accused doctor and asked them to record their statements on the matter.
Officials said if the allegations were proved, the doctor, as well as the clinic owner, could face strict against as the doctor did not have a PNDT registration. Only a doctor with a registration can conduct an ultrasound on a pregnant woman.
Despite repeated attempts by
TOI, officials at the fertility centre did not respond.
Though, in this case, the kin of the pregnant woman filed a complaint, providing a whiff of a bigger racket, there are many couples, especially those from affluent sections of society, who seek help from such clinics/agents for getting gender determination tests — and if required a medical termination of pregnancy — done abroad.
As TOI had reported in May last year, Thailand, Singapore and Dubai, among a few others, seemed to be the most favoured destinations with a number of agents/clinics providing dedicated services to couples who want to avoid legal action and social stigma in India. While prenatal gender determination and foeticide are prohibited under Indian laws (Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act), these tests are allowed in these foreign countries.
