A woman in India died after undergoing a sex-selective abortion, and four people have been arrested in relation to her death.

Key Takeaways:

• The woman, identified as Malkapuram Sravani, was pregnant with her third child; she and her husband already had two daughters.

• Sravani was living with her mother during the pregnancy, and her family reportedly feared a third girl would impact them financially.

• Her mother took her to get an illegal sex-determining ultrasound, which revealed the preborn child was a girl.

• An auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) committed the abortion at her home; when Sravani began experiencing more bleeding two days later, she was given "tablets."

• Her condition did not improve, and Sravani was taken to a hospital; despite receiving treatment, she died.

• Sravani's husband lodged a complaint, leading to the arrest of her mother, the ANM, and two others.

The Details:

The Times of India reported that Sravani died at the age of 35 after undergoing an illegal sex-selective abortion. Four people — her mother, the ANM, a registered medical practitioner (RMP), and the operator of the ultrasound center — have been arrested.

Sravani was married to Ambala Bhaskar Goud, an auto driver, and the two lived together in Hyderabad. They had welcomed two daughters and were pregnant for the third time. While a reason wasn't given, Sravani had gone to live with her maternal family in Kolukonda village during her pregnancy.

Her family was reportedly worried that she would have a third girl, so her mother, identified as Shobha, asked R Shravan Kumar, an RMP, what to do. He referred her to an ANM, Anasuya, who sent them to an ultrasound scanning center, owned by a man named Praveen.

Ultrasounds performed to determine the sex of a preborn baby are illegal in India, due to the long history of sex-selective abortion.

On July 20, it was confirmed that the preborn baby was a girl. The ANM then committed an abortion on Sravani at her home on July 21, and within two days, Sravani was experiencing complications. Rather than get her legitimate medical care, Anasuya reportedly gave Sravani some "tablets," which did not help.

Sravani was taken to a hospital on July 24, and as her condition worsened, she was sent to a second hospital. Doctors ultimately were unable to save her, and she died on July 25. Her husband filed a complaint with the police, and all four — Shobha, Anasuya, Praveen, and Kumar — were arrested.

The Big Picture:

India is known to have a cultural preference for boys, and that has led to widespread sex-selective abortion. Though the practice is now illegal, it persists.

Authorities have said numerous illegal sex-selective abortion rackets have been found across the country, often operating across multiple states; as these abortions continue, sex ratios have again become lopsided, with boys outnumbering girls. Though authorities have continued to try to fight against it, the practice has continued to take place.

"The foetus gets selected as a boy or a girl, and then eliminated using abortion drugs that are illegally sold across India," women’s rights activist Varsha Deshpande said in an interview last year. "These drugs are supposed to be restricted, unlike condoms and family planning pills that you can buy over the counter, yet you can buy them in every market. The problem is not one law, it’s the violation of all three.”

Likewise, Dr. Neelam Singh, a gynaecologist and founder of Vatsalya, a Uttar Pradesh-based NGO working for women’s and children’s health, said the rise of in vitro fertilization (IVF) has encouraged sex-selective practices to continue. Culturally, dowries are still paid, even though they are supposed to be illegal, and sons are still the only ones who can inherit and carry on the family name.

It is believed that, without the existence of sex-determining ultrasounds, between the 1970s and today, there would be approximately 63 million more women and girls alive in India.

The Bottom Line:

Gendercide continues to be a global problem, with preborn girls the most vulnerable victims.