Assertion (A): There is a statutory ban on amniocentesis for sex determination in India.
Reason (R): Amniocentesis is often misused to find the sex of the unborn child, and a female foetus is then aborted by MTP.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are correct and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
Amniocentesis is a test in which some amniotic fluid around the developing foetus is taken out. The foetal cells and substances in it are studied to find genetic disorders such as Down syndrome, haemophilia and sickle-cell anaemia.
Assertion (A): There is a statutory ban on amniocentesis for sex determination in India. — True. A statutory ban is a ban made by law. The law forbids the use of amniocentesis to find the sex of the foetus. The book lists this ban among the programmes for better reproductive health.
Reason (R): Amniocentesis is often misused to find the sex of the unborn child, and a female foetus is then aborted by MTP. — True. MTP is medical termination of pregnancy. The book calls the misuse of amniocentesis to learn the sex of the child a dangerous trend, often followed by MTP when the foetus is female.
Why R explains A? A is about a law that stops one use of amniocentesis. R is about how the test is misused. Because the test is misused to find female foetuses and abort them, it adds to female foeticide. The law was made to check this female foeticide, so the misuse in R is the reason for the ban in A.
NCERT Extract:
Reproductive Health – Problems and Strategies – “… Statutory ban on amniocentesis for sex-determination to legally check increasing menace of female foeticides, massive child immunisation, etc., are some programmes that merit mention in this connection. In aminocentesis some of the amniotic fluid of the developing foetus is taken to analyse the fetal cells and dissolved substances. This procedure is used to test for the presence of certain genetic disorders such as, down syndrome, haemoplilia, sickle-cell anemia, etc., determine the survivability of the foetus.”
Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) – “… Another dangerous trend is the misuse of amniocentesis to determine the sex of the unborn child. Frequently, if the foetus is found to be female, it is followed by MTP- this is totally against what is legal.”