In a major policy decision, the cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which aims to ease the 50-year-old abortion law in the country.
"The bill will be introduced in the budget session of the Parliament," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday.
The significant aspect of the bill is to enhance the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women, which means a 24-week-old foetus can be aborted. These categories will be defined in the amendments to the MTP Rules to include “vulnerable women including survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women (like differently-abled women, minors)”.
Earlier, women with a pregnancy of more than 20 weeks had to approach the court, citing various reasons to allow the termination.
"It is a step towards safety and well-being of the women and many women will be benefited by this. Recently, several petitions were received by the courts, seeking permission for aborting pregnancies at a gestational age beyond the present permissible limit on grounds of foetal abnormalities or pregnancies due to sexual violence faced by women. The proposed increase in gestational age will ensure dignity, autonomy, confidentiality and justice for women who need to terminate pregnancy,” the cabinet note said.
However, the upper gestation limit does not apply in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by a medical board. The composition, functions and other details of the medical board are to be prescribed subsequently in rules under the Act.
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The bill makes it mandatory to keep the name and other particulars of a woman secret.
Under the new bill, the opinion of one provider, who can be a registered medical practitioner, will be needed for termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation, while for pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation, opinions of two providers will be necessary.
"The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, is for expanding access of women to safe and legal abortion services on therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian or social grounds," officials said.
