UTPAL SANDESARA
University of Pennsylvania
“Sex-Selective Abortion in India: Victims, Villains and Other Ways of Seeing the World”
Over the past 30 years, selective abortion of female fetuses has become a disturbingly routine form of family planning in India, with expert estimates of the total exceeding half a million. Countless legal and policy measures aim to curb what has widely come to be seen as a public “crisis,” but we know almost nothing about the experiences of families seeking the service or clinicians providing it. Drawing on 18 months of clinic-based fieldwork, anthropologist and physician-in-training Utpal Sandesara shines new light on the lived drama of sex selection. Taking listeners through a secretive black market, the sitting rooms of common households,
and the dusty halls of government, Sandesara provocatively challenges longstanding approaches in public health. In the process, he illustrates the potential value of clinical research as a tool for understanding and addressing troubling social problems.
Reception to follow.
Sponsored by: Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Health Administration and Policy
UMBC is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for all faculty, staff, students, and visitors. If you would like to request accommodations (e.g., ASL interpreters, captioning, wheelchair access, etc.) for this event due to a disability, please notify us at least two weeks prior to the event. Requests received after that time cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to make arrangements for program access. Please contact us at socialscience@umbc.edu with your specific request and be sure to include the event title, date, and time.