This year, over 120 First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered across the state of Haryana related to “illegal abortion practices”, including the unauthorised sale of medical termination of pregnancy (abortion) kits. Of these, challans (official police reports) have been presented in court in 39 cases, while 47 are under investigation. This involves pursuing not just illegal abortions, but also illegal abortions of female fetuses based on sex determination tests.
In a bid to dismantle networks involved in sex determination and illegal abortions, the Haryana Health Department on Tuesday directed the state police to trace phone records and location history of the accused in such cases.
Additionally, Chief Secretary (Health) Sudhir Rajpal also emphasised close coordination with health officials during raids towards enforcing the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prevention of Misuse) Act. The directives came during a weekly meeting of the State Task Force (STF) formed to improve Haryana’s sex ratio. Chaired by Rajpal in Chandigarh, the latest meeting focused on intensifying efforts to curb illegal abortions and enhance the state’s sex ratio as part of the ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ campaign.
Rajpal stressed the need for stringent enforcement against illegal abortions, instructing officials to impose punitive measures, including licence revocation for complicit doctors. He also highlighted the state’s implementation of reverse tracking for all medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) and abortion cases beyond 12 weeks, especially those involving women with one or more daughters.
Rajpal instructed that chief medical officers in all districts receive full legal support and active police coordination to ensure cases reach logical conclusions in courts, with convictions secured. He also called for improved deployment of auxiliary nurse midwives and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), particularly in urban areas.
Additionally, Rajpal directed that no nodal officer for enforcing the Act in any district can be transferred without permission from the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS). The DGHS will have the authority to select and appoint these officers across districts.
In the previous meeting, the task force had announced that the state’s sex ratio has improved to 907, as per data collected this year till July 31 – up from 899 during the corresponding period last year.
In a meeting held in July, the STF had stated that couples in Haryana who have at least one living female child and wish to have another child through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) must obtain prior permission from the District Appropriate Authority. This requirement, still at the stage of framing modalities, will apply to couples who already have a girl and a boy as children.
SOURCE: Indian Express, by Express News Service, 13 August 2025.