《中英對照讀新聞》India to tighten laws to stop female infanticide 印度使禁止殺害女嬰的法律更為嚴格

India plans to tighten laws banning tests to determine the sex of unborn babies in a bid to curb the killing of thousands of female foetuses, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said.

印度衛生部長安布曼尼．拉馬多斯說，印度打算讓禁止檢驗未出生嬰兒性別的法律更為嚴格，以阻止成千上萬女胎兒遭到殺害。

India's Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act--which outlaws doctors from carrying out sex determination tests--has been in force since 1994 but social activists say local authorities lack the will to combat female infanticide.

印度的「產前診斷技術法」──該法禁止醫生從事判定性別的檢驗──已自1994年起施行，但社會倡議人士說，地方政府缺乏打擊屠殺女嬰的意願。

Besides, families seek sons over daughters and unscrupulous doctors attempt to get around the law, making enforcement difficult, they say.

此外，他們指出，想要兒子而非女兒的家庭與缺乏醫德的醫生企圖逃避法律，使得執法更為困難。

A joint study carried out by researchers in India and Canada recently suggested that half-a-million unborn girls may be aborted in India every year, with parents preferring boys as being a better asset to the family.

日前由印度與加拿大研究人員共同進行的一項聯合研究暗示，由於父母偏好男孩，視他們為較佳的家族資產，印度每年遭墮胎的未出生女嬰可能有50萬名。

新聞辭典

tighten：動詞，使更嚴格，使更有效。

infanticide：名詞，殺嬰，殺嬰者。-cide為跟「殺害」有關的字尾，如：suicide（自殺）、homicide（殺人，殺人犯）與pesticide（殺蟲劑） 。例句：She loved her late husband so much so she committed suicide right after his funeral.（她非常愛她已往生的老公，所以在他的葬禮過後就自殺了。）

get around：片語，逃避。

Pre-natal：形容詞，產前的，孕期的；出生前的。pre-為「在…之前」的字首，如prenuptial （婚前的）。例句：Did you sign the prenuptial agreement before you marry your husband？（你跟你老公結婚前有簽婚前協議書嗎？）