Haryana: Couples with kids must obtain permission for IVF

The State Task Force (STF) for Improving Sex Ratio in Haryana today decided that couples with one or two living female children seeking another child through IVF have to obtain prior permission from a District Appropriate Authority.

Advertisement

The meeting of the STF was held under the Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Sudhir Rajpal, here today.

The meeting highlighted that the state’s sex ratio improved to 904 till July 7 this year, up from 903 in the corresponding period last year.

The Additional Chief Secretary emphasised the need for stringent enforcement against illegal abortions, instructing officials to take punitive measures, including revoking the licences of doctors found complicit. In one such case, two nursing homes were sealed in Nuh district. All Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) have been asked to take action against BAMS doctors and quacks engaged in illegal abortion activities and submit a report every week.

Officials informed that consistent field-level efforts have led to a noticeable rise in birth registration figures for June as compared to May. To further strengthen the drive, the Additional Chief Secretary directed senior officers to collaborate with ASHA and anganwadi workers to identify and register unregistered children, particularly in slums and low-income areas of Palwal, Nuh, Gurugram, and Faridabad.

In a parallel effort to curb illegal practices, Rajpal instructed CMOs to initiate reverse tracking of abortions conducted up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The aim is to identify the medical practitioners involved in such procedures and initiate strict action in cases of violations. A comprehensive method for reverse tracking has been shared with all CMOs.

The meeting was also informed that due to an intensified crackdown on illegal Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) centres, around 500 such centres have been shut down across the state. This has also led to a significant decline in legal MTPs over the past two months.

The Woman and Child Development Department shared that awareness campaigns under the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' initiative are being carried out in public parks, and telecom companies were being engaged to disseminate the message through mobile alerts.