NEW DELHI, April 29 (UPI) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, pointing to the country's declining sex ratio, hit out against the practice of aborting female fetuses.
Calling the practice a "national shame," Singh urged laws against doctors assisting parents to avoid the birth of unwanted daughters be enforced more strictly, The New York Times reported.
Speaking in New Delhi at a national conference on "Saving the girl child," Singh said census figures show the number of girls for every 1,000 boys in India had fallen to 927 in 2001 from 962 in 1981, the report said.
"This indicates that growing economic prosperity and education levels have not led to a corresponding mitigation in this acute problem," he said.
"No nation, no society, no community can hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilized world if it condones the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity represented by women."
The Times' report said Singh warned that a number of doctors continue to illegally disclose the sex of the fetus to the parents before arranging to abort unwanted girls, the report said.
A campaigner against sex selection told the Times, "The current laws are not being enforced. It is the government's responsibility to take action."
