NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Seven thousand fewer girls are born in India each day than the global average would suggest, largely because female fetuses are aborted after sex determination tests, the United Nations Children's Fund ( UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
The problem of female feticide has significantly worsened since 1991, UNICEF said at the India launch of its "State of the World's Children 2007" report.
Out of 71,000 children born every day in India, just 31,000 are girls -- giving a sex ratio of 882 girls to 1,000 boys.
But the global sex ratio -- which is 954 girls to 1,000 boys -- suggests that 38,000 girls should be born in India every day.
Despite laws banning sex determination tests, female feticide is common in much of India, where families view boys as being a better asset than girls.
"Modern diagnostic techniques for monitoring the health of a fetus, such as amniocentesis and ultrasound, have made it possible to ascertain sex in the earliest phase of gestation," the report stated.
"In countries where there is a strong preference for sons, these newer, sophisticated technologies can be misused, facilitating female feticide."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061212/...a_foeticide_dc
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