In a groundbreaking legal battle exposing India’s persistent issue with sex-selective abortions, 39-year-old paediatrician Mitu Khurana has sued her husband, Dr. Kamal Khurana, for allegedly tricking her into a gender-revealing ultrasound and pressuring her to abort their twin daughters in 2004. The case, updated in November 2015, marks the first under laws banning fetal gender testing and has reached India’s high court after being dismissed by a lower court for lack of evidence. Mitu’s twins, Guddu and Pari, were born prematurely at 31 weeks and are now 10 years old, symbolizing her defiance against deep-rooted gender bias.
The allegations detail a harrowing ordeal: While hospitalized at Jaipur Golden Hospital for a stomach complaint caused by an allergic reaction, Mitu was sedated with painkillers. Her husband reportedly colluded with staff to perform an illegal ultrasound, revealing the twins were girls. Upon discovery, he allegedly pushed her down stairs, causing abdominal pain, and confined her to a room in an attempt to induce abortion. Mitu refused, resting in the hospital for four days before giving birth prematurely. Dr. Khurana denies the charges, but the case implicates both him and the hospital
