Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act 1994

Post Date: Friday, October 14, 2016

The Government of India enacted this law to respond to the country’s disproportionate sex ratio. First, the Act prohibits genetic laboratories from undertaking any technique that facilitates or causes sex determination (including sperm sorting). Secondly, the Act regulates prenatal diagnostic techniques including ultrasonography to determine the sex of the fetus. To enforce the regulations, the Act relies on reporting from registered testing and genetic facilities.

Under the Act, when “medical geneticists, gynaecolgists, registered medical practitioners or any person who owns a Genetic Counseling Centre, a Genetic Laboratory or a Genetic Clinic or who is employed in such a Centre, Laboratory or Clinic” violates the PCPNDT Act, he or she faces a prison term of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs. 10,000. Multiple offenders receive a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to Rs. 50,000.  Additionally, individuals seeking out sex determination face a prison sentence of up to three years and a fine of up to Rs. 50,000. The Act very explicitly states that the punishment will not “apply to the woman who was compelled to undergo such diagnostic techniques or such selection.”

It is important to note that the PCPNDT does not mention Medical Termination of Pregnancy. Accordingly, if the sex of the fetus is determined in violation of the law, any subsequent MTP (for whatever reason) will not amount to a punishable offense under the Act. Increasingly, concern surrounding sex ratio and sex selective abortion has encroached on women’s rights to exercise their reproductive autonomy. It is crucial to situate sex ratio policy in a rights framework that recognizes, promotes, and respects women’s fundamental rights. Although the Government of India passed the PCPNDT Act in 1994, India’s sex ratio has not improved and between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, many states actually saw a fall in the number of girls to boys.