Since the socially desirable does not translate seamlessly into the personally desirable we would, at some point, have to grapple with the issue of personal choice. Obviously change cannot be forced at the personal level, and laws can only go so far. All we can do is attempt to change the factors that dictate such a choice by working to improve the social status accorded to our daughters, through assured schooling, healthcare, employment oppportunities, and substantive legal equality. But even as we do this, we would need to continue to monitor and punish medical personnel who seek to thrive on one of the most pernicious forms of hate crimes known to modern Indian society — the hate crime called female foeticide.