Mitu Khurana: Fighting India’s Contemporary Female Feticide Movement

Abstract

In 2008, Dr. Mitu Khurana filed a case against her husband, Dr. Kamal Khurana, and her in-laws, alleging that they, in collusion with Jaipur Golden Hospital, conducted a sex-determination test on her twin fetuses without her consent. Following this, she was pressured to terminate the pregnancy after it was discovered she was carrying twin girls. After refusing to abort, she was subjected to intense physical and emotional abuse by her husband and in-laws, and societal backlash for not protecting her family honor. The sex-determination test was a direct violation of the 1994 Preconception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, which makes it illegal to conduct sex-determination tests and sex-selective abortions in India. This case study examines the gendered discrimination and legal loopholes that Mitu Khurana battled within India’s contemporary female feticide movement, ultimately leading her to confront the decision of whether to continue pursuing legal action within a broken judicial system.