Take action against chemists selling abortion pills, officials told

Tribune News Service

Solan, June 23

Dr Sanjay Sharma, Chief Medical Officer, Nahan, today directed the drug inspector to take strict action as per the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Test (PNDT) Act against chemists found selling abortion and other restricted drugs surreptitiously to women.

Addressing a meeting of the PNDT Committee at Nahan today, he said it had been observed that couples opted for aborting their foetus after knowing that the foetus is female.

“This not only adversely affected the health of a woman but also is a violation of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Test Act,” he said.

He directed the drug inspector to keep a watch over such chemists and take strict action against them as per the Act. He said the committee members should also conduct surprise check over such clinics where the ultrasound facility was misused for conducting sex determination tests.

He said this was a social evil which adversely affected a woman’s health and all efforts should be made to curb this practice.

Dr Sharma while urging people to report about such illegal practices in the area said their names would be kept secret and they would be awarded Rs 1 lakh. He said there were 16 clinics having ultrasound facility in Nahan out of which 12 were private.

Dr Sharma said they have proposed to install close circuit cameras outside all such clinics and added that a campaign to highlight the importance of girl child in society would soon be initiated to foster a sense of love for the girl child in the district.