PM Singh urges to 'save the girl child'

India's widespread practice of aborting female fetuses is a "national shame," the prime minister said yesterday, insisting the country can no longer ignore the problem if it wants to be a modern nation.

Experts say up to 500,000 female fetuses are aborted in India every year because of discrimination against women and a deep-rooted cultural preference for male children, who will help support their parents in old age and attract wives who come with substantial dowries.

"This is a national shame and we must face this challenge squarely here and now," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a conference on ways to "Save the girl child."