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Indians take female foeticide to UK? Rise in sex-selective abortions in community: Report
Around 118 boys were born to Indian mothers for every 100 girls from 2021 to 2025
A record number of baby girls are reportedly being aborted by the Indians in Britain because of their preference for boys. In the past four years, 2021 to 2025, hundreds of pregnancies were terminated on the basis of sex, an investigation by The Daily Mail in the UK showed.
The report said around 118 boys were born to Indian mothers for every 100 girls in the four years. Experts say the figures are proof of sex-selective abortions, sparking fears that Indian mothers are being forced to terminate their unborn female children.
Numbers higher than the national average
The national average across all ethnicities records around 105 boys for every 100 girls each year, while the accepted upper limit by the British government is 107 males to 100 females.
However, as the report shows, the current ratio of 118 males to 100 females among Indian-origin people is way higher than the average.
Dramatic rise in boy girl ratio of their child
In the year 2021-22, the birth ratio for the third child born to Indians was 114 boys for every 100 girls. This number dipped slightly in the following year, recording a 109:100 ratio.
However, 2023-24 saw a dramatic rise in the ratio with 118:100 and remained the same in the following year, the Mail report said.
Experts believe women being forced by families
Experts have pointed out that women are increasingly being forced to terminate their pregnancies by their families. Meanwhile, some women are also led to believe that “they are worth more if they give birth to boys,” Rani Bilku, founder of domestic abuse charity Jeena International, told the outlet.
Rani Bilku said that the boys in the Indian community have a “prince syndrome”. She called the abortions an issue of gender equality.
Boys preferred more as third child
The report also shows a shocking detail in the ratio of births of their children: Indian parents who already have two daughters are aborting a third female child.
As per an analysis by the UK's Department of Health over the years 2017 to 2021, the average birth rate for Indians is 113 males to 100 females for the third child.
In terms of the termination of baby girls, this ratio of 113:100 likely equates to 400 terminations, said the report.
Last year, a charity named the British Pregnancy Advisory Service was criticised for asserting that sex-selective abortions are “not illegal”. Campaigners spoke against the advice, calling it “irresponsible” and pointing out the increasing pressure on Indian mothers to have boys.
Also read: Ludhiana: MRI, CT scans are the new weapons of female foeticide, say radiologists | Hindustan Times
What law in Britain says
As per guidance by the UK Department of Health, gender itself is not a lawful ground for abortion in England, Wales and Scotland.
The Abortion Act 1967 states that an abortion can be carried out when two registered medical practitioners believe that there is “substantial risk” to the child if born and that the pregnancy has not exceeded its twenty-fourth week. These risks include serious physical or mental abnormalities.
