Read the given passage and answer the following questions:
Intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy before full term is called medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) or induced abortion. Nearly 45 to 50 million MTPs are performed in a year all over the world which accounts to 1/5th of the total number of conceived pregnancies in a year. Whether to accept / legalise MTP or not is being debated upon in many countries due to emotional, ethical, religious and social issues involved in it. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2017 was enacted by the government of India with the intension of reducing the incidence of illegal abortion and consequent maternal mortality and morbidity. According to this Act, a pregnancy may be terminated on certain considered grounds within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy on the opinion of one registered medical practitioner. If the pregnancy has lasted more than 12 weeks, but fewer than 24 weeks, two registered medical practitioners must be of the opinion, formed in good faith, that the required ground exist. The grounds for such termination of pregnancies are: (i) The continuation of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury physical or mental health; or (ii There is a substantial risk that of the child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.
Misuse of which procedure to find out the sex of the unborn child is a dangerous trend linked to MTP?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Amniocentesis
Amniocentesis is a test in which some amniotic fluid around the foetus is taken out and studied to detect genetic disorders. The same cells also show the sex of the foetus. The test is misused to find the sex, and if the foetus is female an illegal MTP often follows. So its use for sex determination is banned by law.
Option (1) Amniocentesis — Correct. Misuse of amniocentesis to find the sex of the unborn child is the dangerous trend linked with MTP.
Option (2) Tubectomy — Incorrect. Tubectomy is female sterilisation: a small part of the fallopian tube is removed or tied up. It does not test the foetus.
Option (3) Vasectomy — Incorrect. Vasectomy is male sterilisation: a small part of the vas deferens is removed or tied up. It does not test the foetus.
Option (4) Insertion of an intra-uterine device (IUD) — Incorrect. An IUD (intra-uterine device), such as Lippes loop or CuT, is placed in the uterus to prevent pregnancy. It cannot show the sex of a foetus.
NCERT Extract:
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.”
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.”