When Jalaja Naik (Congress) raised the issue of women being forced to undergo sterilisation, many others joined in. M R Tanga (BJP) and M P Nadagouda (AIPJD), who are doctors by profession, contended that unless men were compelled to go in for sterilisation, no population control measure would succeed.
"There is enormous social and family pressure on women to undergo tubectomy. Indian men have wrong notions about sterilisation. It has to be removed. In fact, vasectomy is simple and reversible", they said.
On the contrary, tubectomy was a complex procedure and irreversible. "Research has proved that vasectomy is better than tubectomy," they argued.
Replying to the debate, health and family welfare minister Kagodu Thimmappa admitted that the state could not achieve the desired results under sterilisation programme.
The percentage of sterilisation, especially among men, was going down. In 2002-03, as many as 1,112 men underwent sterilisation as against 3,94,267 women (0.20 per cent of the target).
From November 2003 till date, the corresponding figures stood at 406 and 2,57,119 respectively (0.16 per cent of the target), he explained.
Thimmappa pointed out that the state government was repeatedly reminding the Centre to give a serious thought towards making vasectomy mandatory for married men. "Unfortunately, this issue has not received the importance it deserved," he noted.
RSS 2.0