Female births are decreasing in India as sales of ultrasound machines are increasing, causing some government officials and advocates to link wider availability of ultrasounds to sex-selective abortions, the Wall Street Journal reports (Wonacott, Wall Street Journal, 4/18). The country in 1994 approved the Prenatal Determination Act, which bans the use of technologies, such as ultrasounds and sonograms, for the purpose of sex-selective abortion. The law also bans advertisements for prenatal sex determination, as well as the practice of preconception sex selection law (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/1). According to the Journal, all clinics that have an ultrasound machine are required to register with the government and provide an affidavit saying it will not perform sex-selective abortions. General Electric, the leading seller of ultrasound machines in the country, has educated its sales force about the issue, requires its customers to sign a GE affidavit saying they will not use the machines for sex selection and conducts periodic audits, company executives said. V. Raja, CEO of GE Healthcare South Asia, said the company "stress[es] emphatically that the machines aren't to be used for sex determination," adding that the increased availability of ultrasound scans "is not the root cause of female feticide in India." Some advocates have said GE is not doing enough to prevent its machines from being used for sex-selective abortions, according to the Journal. Puneet Bedi, a New Delhi-based obstetrician, said GE and other companies market the machines as an essential tool for prenatal care even though ultrasounds are often unnecessary for pregnant women in low-risk groups. According to the Journal, GE cannot tell if physicians sell their machines to unregistered physicians and if different Indian states interpret registration rules differently.

Prevalence of Sex-Selective Abortion Still High
"Ultrasound is the main reason why the sex ration is coming down," Kalpana Bhavre, head of women and child welfare for the Datia district government, said, adding that couples often view having a daughter as incurring debt for parents because of marital dowry payments (Wall Street Journal, 4/18). According to a UNICEF report released in December 2006, about 7,000 fewer girls than expected are born daily in India, and about 10 million fewer girls than expected were born in the past 20 years. The most recent Indian census figures found that the gender ratio decreased from 947 girls per 1,000 boys to 927 girls per 1,000 boys from 1991 to 2001 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/1). Raja said, "What's really needed is a change in mindsets. A lot of education has to happen, and the government has to do it." The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is investigating 422 cases against physicians who are accused of using ultrasounds for sex selection. The ministry in a statement said that "legislation is not enough to deal with this problem," adding that the situation will "change only when the daughters are not treated as a burden and the sons as assets" (Wall Street Journal, 4/18).