INDIA’S MTP ACT

In India, abortion is legal under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (1971) Act. It prioritizes woman’s health and life and takes socio-economic effects into consideration, making access to safe medical termination of pregnancy possible. There is however, a time limit for aborting a foetus, and the techniques vary according to how far the pregnancy has progressed.

Referring to the 1971 Act and its amendment in 2021, senior advocate and president of the Forum of Legal Professionals, Kuppili Muralidhar, says, “As per the MTP Act, pregnancy can be terminated within 20 weeks after consulting a registered doctor. Between 20 to 24 weeks, opinions of two qualified doctors are required for MTP. After 24 weeks, a state-level medical board’s approval is required and a writ petition has to be filed. Termination after 24 weeks becomes necessary mostly in cases of sexual abuse, detection of substantial foetal abnormalities and serious medical complications.”

Dr MNV Pallavi, director at Her Clinic and consultant gynaecologist at Rainbow Hospitals, says, “A foetus is born between 3740 weeks and is considered pre-term if born between 28-30 weeks. But if a foetus is less than 24 weeks old, it cannot reasonably survive outside the womb. Foetal anomalies (non-development of certain organs including the brain) can be detected after 20 weeks during scans and parents have an option to terminate pregnancies that will result in severe lifelong impairment or early death of the baby. If termination happens within nine weeks of pregnancy, it can be mostly managed by medicines. Between 9 to 12 weeks, a suction instrument is required for surgical evacuation. After 12 weeks till 24 weeks, a delivery is done surgically or by inducing labour pain. Either the extremely premature baby is born dead or dies soon after birth.”