Tamil Nadu: 3 booked under NSA for illegally harvesting minor girl’s eggs in Erode

Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Wednesday said that the three persons who were by the state police in connection with illegally harvesting eggs from a minor girl in Erode have been detained under the National Security Act (NSA).

The detention under the NSA is valid for one year, added the health minister.

The three arrested who will be sent to NSA detention are the mother of the minor girl, her (mother's) paramour, and a broker who used to scout clients for the perpetrators of the crime.

The state’s health minister also said that the department has also gone for an appeal against the stay granted to the hospitals involved in the egg harvesting, as reported by PTI.

“The state will not back out from its plan to close down hospitals that were involved in such a crime," he said.

In June, the incident of a minor girl forced to donate her Oocytes to hospitals for commercial reasons came to the fore. Following the complaint, the state government appointed an enquiry committee led by the joint director of medical and rural health services (ACTs) Dr A Vishwanathan to enquire into the matter.

They visited hospitals, spoke to the doctors, the girl, her mother, his partner and the “agent” and then submitted a report in this regard on July 7. The team during the investigation found that the 16-year-old was taken to the hospitals by her parents and brokers and forced to donate her eggs month after month, reported PTI.

Later on July 14, the health minister ordered the closure of four fertility hospitals, including two branches of Sudha Hospitals in Erode and Salem, Ram Prasad hospital in Perundurai and Vijay Hospital in Hosur on charges of violating the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act and Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, based on the report of the enquiry committee which found the minor girl was forced to donate her oocytes.

The scan centres which were attached to the four facilities were also closed and hospitals empanelled under the state health insurance schemes were removed from the list, reported PTI.