Daughters move away at marriage and transfer their allegiance to their husbands' families. Parents can expect little financial or emotional support from daughters after they leave home. In many parts of India, daughters mean an additional disadvantage to parents-the obligation of paying her prospective husband's family a large dowry. Dowries often require parents to go into debt, and the amount families must pay has been increasing over the years. The financial and social disadvantages of having a daughter prompt some women to abort their pregnancies if they are carrying a daughter.
Pregnant women can determine the sex of their fetus through ultrasound and other examinations.
As this technology becomes more widely available, more parents are using it to choose the number and sex of their children. Nearly all aborted fetuses in Indian hospitals are female. The national government has passed laws prohibiting sex-selective abortion, as have many Indian states, but abortion practices are difficult to regulate. The Indian government, along with a number of women's groups and other nongovernmental organizations, are attempting to deal with these larger issues. Easing the financial burden of daughters could lessen interest in sex-selective abortions and make girls more valuable, both to parents and to the community at large.