Indian-origin doctor appears in court in abortion case

An Indian-origin doctor, accused of offering to perform an abortion based on the unborn child's gender, has appeared in a British court, a media report said.

Prabha Sivaraman, 46, accused of planning an abortion based on the sex of the unborn baby, appeared at the Manchester Magistrates' Court Friday, the Daily Mail reported.

It was the first case of its kind case coming before the court in Britain.

South Yorkshire-based Sivaraman was one of the two doctors purportedly filmed by undercover reporters from The Telegraph daily in 2012.

Palaniappan Rajmohan, another doctor, was purportedly filmed at the Calthorpe Clinic in Birmingham city's Edgbaston area in February 2012, agreeing to conduct the procedure even though he told the undercover reporter: "It's like female infanticide, isn't it?"

Sivaraman is accused of conspiracy to procure poison to be used with intent to induce abortion.

Sivaraman, who worked for private clinics and National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in Manchester at the time of investigation, was recorded telling a woman: "I don't ask questions. If you want a termination, you want a termination."

The case will now be heard at Manchester Crown Square Jan 15 next year.