The Tamil Nadu Health Department on Tuesday issued a notice to YouTuber Irfan for allegedly revealing the sex of his unborn child in videos posted on his YouTube channel and violating the PCPNDT Act, 1994. The department also asked the Tamil YouTuber to take down videos about the prenatal sex determination test and subsequent disclosure. He posted a video of his pregnant wife undergoing the prenatal sex determination test at a hospital in Dubai on his channel ‘Irfan’s View’, and said that it was legal in several countries, including in Dubai to carry out the test, however, it was banned in India.
"When I was born in 1993, my mother knew my gender. It was not a big issue then. It was stopped because many mad people were discriminating against the female gender," he said in the video.
What did the Health Department say?
"The YouTuber Irfan revealed to the audience during a family function that he found out the gender of his wife's unborn child (girl) after a scan during his visit to Dubai," the health department release said.
He had posted the video on May 19 on his channel which was watched and shared by numerous viewers.
"Ascertaining and announcing the gender of a child in India is prohibited under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) ACT 1994. Such an action will lead to a decline of the female birth rate besides leading to crimes against women," the release said.
Hence, a memo has been issued to Irfan for violating the provisions of the said Act. Also, a letter was sent to the Cyber Crime Division asking them to immediately remove the video uploaded by Irfan from social media, it said.
The government warned of stringent legal action against persons, scan centers, and hospitals who indulge in prenatal tests. Following the backlash, the YouTuber removed the controversial video disclosing the gender.
(With PTI inputs)
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