Misuse of Ultra- Sonography

Misuse of diagnostic procedure - Ultra- Sonography

Misuse of diagnostic procedures like Ultra-Sonography for prenatal sex determination and selective termination of pregnancies of female fetuses – and their long term effects and social consequences.

In selective female feticide there is generalized and widespread misuse of both USG-Ultra-Sonography (diagnostic procedure) and MTP-Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Therapeutic Procedure and Law related to it).

This misuse is done by both - Service Providers and Service Seekers. Both are equally responsible because both parties willingly do it AGAINST LAW and get benefited.

What is the Benefit? – ‘Few Dollars more’ for doctors and getting rid of unwanted girl child for general population.

But there are minimum chances of exploitation (as against corruption where general population – service seeker is always exploited). There is a great demand for such services and some service providers are taking advantage of it. (There is some exploitation in increased charges of USG done for sex determination but the patient is more than willing to pay).  

If there is no exploitation and everybody in the society gets benefited (?) then why there is law against it? – Previously there was no law against it. Here the question is not of exploitation or of so called benefit but of the long term effects and social consequences of such misuse.

Man is expert and infamous for misuse and exploitation. He uses his intellectual capacities (not wisdom) to find as many ways as possible to misuse anything; to exploit the situation for selfish desires and to satisfy greed. And he can go to any (lower) level and length to do this. Man is an intellectual animal but he refuses to be an animal, who behaves strictly on instincts and natural laws, and he refuses to be wise and human.

USG: It is basically a diagnostic procedure that is useful in many important ways like detection of growth, maturity, defects and anomalies of fetus. In fact it tells us almost everything about the present condition of pregnancy. It also helps us to predict normal outcome or possible problems and complications. Sex of the baby is an incidental and least important finding. Knowing it beforehand during pregnancy only satisfies our curiosity at an early stage. It is customary, in foreign countries, to tell the sex of baby, along with other findings of USG, to the parents. After all we will know it after delivery.

MTP: Medical Termination of pregnancy, as a procedure and the Law related to it, is only to terminate problematic or abnormal pregnancy by standard and safe procedures. It is strictly done only for medical reasons and the purpose is the safety of the mother.

When both are linked, there is a possibility to use USG to determine sex of baby and to use MTP to terminate female baby. And considering that the thought is already present in the minds of people and they are more than willing to pay, there is a huge potential of earning extra and out of proportion money. 

BUT THE THOUGHT OF KILLING FEMALE BABY AND NEGLECTING AND EXPLOITING WOMEN IN GENERAL IS ALREADY PRESENT (FOR MANY CENTURIES) IN THE MINDS OF PEOPLE.

Who started it first? Doctors or people? – This question is like “egg first or hen first”.

Doctors:

The word Doctor (from Latin) literally means ‘to teach’ and the title Doctor (Dr.) means ‘one who has a license to teach’ and who (therefore) teaches by the virtue of his academic and professional knowledge and experience. With time the word now also refers to the one who treats, gives advice and counsels. So Doctors have a right to advice and are expected to give right advice. But, unfortunately, it seems that some of them have forgotten to give Right advice (against misuse of USG for sex determination, MTP of female fetuses and many other things). Some think that keeping mum or noncommittal is allowable and pardonable. Some think that they are expected to give only treatment whenever patient comes with complaint and charge them for that and teaching / explaining / advising right things to the patient is not their duty. (E.g. some doctors keep mum and don’t give contraceptive advice to the patient after delivery, not even after Caesarian Section operation. The patient invariably comes for MTP - now wrongly considered as contraceptive method - after few months.) Some genuinely think that if patient gets wise then he will not come to them. Some go beyond that and intentionally give Wrong advice. Some even justify such malpractices in the name of changing times (everything is allowed in love, war and Earning Money).

When the Doctors are expected to be wise, know all the consequences and give advice against Sex determination and selective female feticide, they just keep mum (and use sign language to tell the sex) and do something (abortion of female baby) on patient’s demand. Some even tried to justify such practices before the law was enforced.    

This is not to say that doctors are solely responsible. Initially, at least, they yielded to the public demand and thought that this will help to reduce the population. Later some of them continued to do it with the fear that the patient will go to other doctor and will get it done anyway. So it is better that they will do it? And some continued to do it to earn more money. The consequences were apparent after some years and they are dangerous. So the law was enforced.

But they are responsible because they are supposed to be a responsible part of society, they are Wise and they know the consequences.       

People:

It is surprising, how even illiterate, careless or ignorant people, who even refuse to do USG for diagnosis or Immunization of their child or even antenatal checkup, come to know such malpractices and run after them? ‘They are illiterate, careless or ignorant’, may itself be the reason. They try to behave according to prevalent social norms and do what is traditional rather than think for themselves. They try to do what they like and what is convenient rather than what is right. And they do what they are told. So there must be someone who is telling them the lies that such people like and that are convenient (for both). And they individually are selfish. They don’t think about society and log-term effects. They think that I WILL HAVE A SON, I have nothing to do with the society. And some people take advantage of this way of thinking.

Age-old Rotten way of thinking: previously girls were killed after birth, or neglected to die of malnutrition, diseases or deliveries. But this was murder. There was some sense of guilt in the minds of those who did it. With abortion (and legalized) there is no such guilt. And USG is a simple, harmless investigation. The linking of both, though rotten and horrible is very simple. Now there is additional and more effective and so called lawful and socially accepted way of killing girls before delivery. This is 2 + 2 = 400. And this is only a part of generalized attitude and behavior of population towards women. This is part of low familial and social value of women; no rights; no value for their efforts, labor, work and hardships; no value for their sacrifice and no value for their life. Majority of women also think in this way is the most horrible thing about it.  

If this type of thinking and behaviors based on such thinking persist in the society, people will always find ways to misuse and kill women. 

So it is not enough to target and punish only Doctors. If the law is against female abortion, the message should go very clearly to the Society that the Couple who does female abortion and all other family members who directly and indirectly force the couple to do female abortion should also be punished.

Unfortunately, at present, only Doctors are being trapped by sending dummy patients and there is no such system to trap other service providers (quacks, horoscopists – ज्योतिषी, religious workers, Mantriks and Tantriks) and involved people (couples and relatives). 

Consequences:

Two types of consequences are possible. They depend on how one (individual) and people in general look at the problem of ‘Less number of females in the society”.

1)    If the Society matures, women have equal status and they are valued (at least henceforth).   

Increasing Value of Women –

a)    Increase in Market value –

·         This will be according to basic rule in economics – If there is scarcity or shortage of females, their demand and hence their market value will increase.

·         The males will have to prove themselves.

·         They will have to pay and pay more and more for wife.

·         Only rich, strong and/or intellectually superior will have a right to marry.

·         Excess and low quality males will only have to work as servants.

·         There can be systems like polyandry (one woman with many husbands) or one woman keeping many men for various functions.

·         The power of women will increase and the society will be female dominated. 

b)    Increase in real Value –

·         Women will be valued because of their real Virtues – the society will be mature, equal, calm, contented and at low stress level.

·         In this situation there will, of course, be no practices like female neglect and female feticide. There will not be any need for such unnecessary laws.

·         The females will have the chance of natural survival and … then … there will be real increase in the number of women to achieve Natural Balance.

At present both a) and b) appear to be a Day-Dreams.

2)    If Society refuses to mature and if the female population is NOT valued (as is the present case)

·         Prostitution (one female satisfying many males) and rape will be common.

·         There will be fights for females.

·         Fathers and brothers will increase the price of their daughters and sisters and they will exploit them in many ways (this is a present situation in some races and tribes). 

·         Possession-by-force and marriage-by-force (Rakshas Vivah – राक्षस विवाह) by strong (physically, economically and politically) and cunning (intellectually) males will be common and socially accepted. And these strong (?) males will treat women as an object in their possession and will abuse, exploitation and torture them.

All these things are prevalent in present society and there is nothing New. But now the proportion of these practices is less and they are not accepted socially. But with less number of females without any value, these practices will be very common and may be socially (society of strong males with females as their slaves) accepted. 

Long term effects

·         Apparently these effects and consequences is a distant future – NO! The future is very near.

·         Apparently they are not related to us – NO! Your own daughter is already dead and your son will stay unmarried for life.

·         Apparently the effects are social – NO! They are personal. Your daughter will be precious and will be valued above everything or her market value will be high or she will be shared by many (polygamy) or she will be raped. And Your son will stay unmarried or he will be one of many husbands or he will be the rapist.

Why man thinks in a rotten way and misuses almost everything?

Probably he is intelligent and immature. He has failed to raise his value above a monkey with a burning torch in his hand. In Marathi it is aptly said, “माकडाच्या हाती कोलित.”

So, the real question is not of number of females (in proportion to number of males) in the society but how the society (both males and females) treats them. If women are not valued by their virtues they will always be abused, exploited, harassed and raped whether their number is less, equal or more in the society.

In the rotten society of many … and … it is not enough to say, “all women, except one (wife), are mothers and sisters”. 

There are two extremes in animals.

1)    Dominant male keeping a harem (lions and monkeys). 

2)    Dominant female eating a male after his function (of fertilizing her) is over (spiders).

Where is (and where should be) our place in between these two extremes?

Are we going to be Mature?

Are we going to be Humans?