Sex Selection: What It Is, Why It Matters, and What You Need to Know

When people talk about sex selection, the practice of choosing the gender of a baby before birth. Also known as gender selection, it’s not just a medical procedure—it’s a social issue with deep roots in culture, law, and ethics. In India, this topic isn’t theoretical. It’s been part of real conversations in homes, clinics, and courtrooms for decades. While technology now makes it possible to influence whether a child is male or female, the reasons behind it often go far beyond medical need.

Sex selection usually happens through prenatal testing, methods like ultrasound or genetic screening used to determine a fetus’s sex. These tools were designed to catch health problems, not to pick gender. But in places where sons are preferred, they’ve been misused. The result? A serious imbalance in the male-to-female ratio across several Indian states. This isn’t just about numbers—it’s about what happens when entire communities start seeing girls as less valuable. The government banned sex-selective abortions in 1994 with the PCPNDT Act, but enforcement remains uneven. People still find ways around the rules, and the consequences ripple through society: fewer brides, rising bride prices, and increased pressure on women to produce male children.

What’s often ignored is how ethical concerns, the moral questions around controlling reproduction based on gender tie into broader issues of gender equality. When families choose boys over girls, they’re not just making a medical decision—they’re reinforcing old biases. And while some argue sex selection should be a personal choice, the reality is that personal choices in this context are shaped by systemic pressure. Even in urban areas, women report being asked about the baby’s sex before they even know it themselves. The technology exists, but the culture hasn’t caught up.

There’s also the question of access. Sex selection isn’t equally available to everyone. It’s often expensive and tied to private clinics, meaning it’s mostly used by those with money and connections. Meanwhile, rural families still face the same societal expectations without the same tools. This creates a two-tiered system where privilege determines who can act on gender bias—and who suffers the most from it.

What you’ll find in the posts below isn’t a list of how-to guides or hidden methods. There are no shortcuts here. Instead, you’ll see real stories, hard data, and clear explanations about why sex selection remains a live issue in India—not because the science is new, but because the values behind it still haven’t changed.