JOIN USThe Delhi health department clamped down on a clinic after it was found to conduct sex-selective abortions recently.
Vinayak Hospital in Sultanpuri was found conducting abortion on a woman well beyond three months of her pregnancy, according to the health department. Vinayak Hospital is neither registered as a nursing home nor as a centre which can carry out medical termination of pregnancies (MTPs).
The department reached the spot on the basis of a complaint. “We received a call on a sex-selective abortion being conducted. The register mentioned the patient as suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea. However, the bill amounting to Rs 18,000 for half a day gave it away,” said Dr Shalley Kamra, State Programme Officer (SPO), Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, state health department.
The couple — residents of Rithala — has a daughter and decided to go for sex-selection techniques with help from a doctor at Vinayak Hospital, said Kamra. The abortion was conducted by a midwife at the hospital who charged around Rs 2,500 for the procedure.
When the team of officials pressured the woman’s husband to reveal the details, he broke down and divulged the details. The team called the midwife to the spot offering her a “hefty amount” to conduct another sex-selective abortion, following which she soon reached the spot.
“The head of the hospital, a paediatrician and the midwife are in connivance. The centre is clearly being used for illegal activities. The clinic is not registered as an MTP centre either,” said Kamra.
All the parties involved in the crime have confessed to the crime. The team has registered an FIR in the case. It will file a case in court , following which proceedings can be initiated to shut down the clinic.