ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the concept of women’s capacity to make autonomous decisions in light of the debates concerning sex-selective abortion in India. The author presents a case study of how an Indian woman reached the decision to undergo an abortion, and reflects on whether this decision was ‘autonomous’ or not. She then discusses a legislative act introduced to prohibit sex detection of the fetus, concluding that the state-enforced ban on fetal sex detection can, in some cases, discriminate against women and prevent their exercise of autonomy.
