Q.What is amniocentesis? Why a statutory ban is imposed on this technique?

Step 1. Amniocentesis is a prenatal diagnostic technique in which a small sample of the amniotic fluid surrounding the foetus is withdrawn (typically between the 15th and 20th week of pregnancy) using a thin needle inserted through the abdomen into the amniotic sac.

Step 2. The amniotic fluid contains cells shed from the foetus, and testing these cells can detect chromosomal abnormalities in the developing baby — this is its genuine, legitimate medical purpose.

Step 3. However, because the test also reveals the sex of the foetus, it has been widely misused in India: once parents learn the foetus is female, in a society with a strong preference for male children, some choose to abort the female foetus (female foeticide). …

Define the technique's medical purpose, then explain the social misuse …

• Describing amniocentesis only as a 'sex determination test' without mentioning its real chromosomal-diagnosis purpose. …