From Seema Hakhu Kachru

Houston, Jun 8 (PTI) Under cultural pressure to have sons, some Indian immigrant women are using reproductive technologies and liberal abortion policies in the US to abort female foetuses, according to a study conducted by University of California.

The women used sperm sorting or in-vitro fertilisation and implanted only the male embryos. Others aborted female foetuses.

The study doesn't mention how widespread the practise is, it covers a small sample group. Researchers interviewed 65 immigrant Indian women in California, New Jersey and New York who pursued foetal sex selection between September 2004 and December 2009.

Of the women, 40 percent had terminated prior pregnancies when carrying a female; 89 percent who found out they were carrying a girl during the interview period, had an abortion.

The women came from various religious and educational backgrounds and approximately half the women interviewed held jobs outside the home.