Hanamkonda: Hospital seized for illegal abortion

Hanamkonda: In a midnight raid, health officials led by DM&HO seized a private hospital for violating the Allopathic Medical Care Establishment and Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) laws near Ekasila Park in Hanamkonda. "Acting on a tip off, we raided City Hospital in the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. We have found that the hospital staff performing abortion to a woman belonging to Chhattisgarh," District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO) Dr K Lalitha said. The DM&HO conducted panchanama in the presence of revenue, child welfare department officials and police.

"It's a clear case of violating MTP laws. We have been keeping an eye on private hospitals performing MTP and pre-natal sex-determination tests for the last six months," Dr Lalitha Devi said, after sealing the City Hospital. She said that they have been sensitising the people about the Pre-Conception Pre Natal-Determination Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (PCPNDT). She warned the hospital managements not to take up such illegal procedures. Additional DM&HO Dr T Madan Mohan Rao, Deputy DM&HO Md Yakub Pashad and DEMO V Ashok Reddy were among others who participated in the raid.