So Mrs. Singh, 32, went with her mother-in-law to a suburban clinic and had the fetus aborted.

BOMBAY — Stockbroker Amandeep Singh had a booming business in Bombay and seemed a happy man when he learned that his wife, Seema, had finally become pregnant 10 years after they married.

The childless north Indian couple went to a temple and prayed to the Hindu god Ganesh to bless them with a healthy son.

But then, a secret ultrasound test showed the baby growing in Mrs. Singh's womb was a girl.

"We want to have a small family with only one child, and we don't want it to be a girl," Mrs. Singh told a family friend. "There's pressure from my in-laws — we have to have a son."

So Mrs. Singh, 32, went with her mother-in-law to a suburban clinic and had the fetus aborted.

Afterward, she told the friend that she and her husband were now focused on trying to have a son who could be the "perfect heir" for the family and also for the business.

Did the mother-in-law to the abortion clinic with Mrs. Singh because she was afraid that Mrs. Singh, who as we see had been trying to get pregnant for ten years, might change her mind?