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| LETTER TO EDITOR |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 7
| Issue : 3 | Page : 109 |
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Amendments to the abortion law in India: Is it progressive enough?
Smitha Rani
Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, JSS Medical College, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore, Karnataka, India
| Date of Submission | 28-Apr-2021 |
| Date of Decision | 28-Jul-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 05-Aug-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 27-Sep-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Smitha Rani
Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, JSS Medical College, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Sri Shivarathreeshwara Nagar, Bannimantap, Mysore - 570 015, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jfsm.jfsm_24_21
How to cite this article:
Rani S. Amendments to the abortion law in India: Is it progressive enough?. J Forensic Sci Med 2021;7:109 |
Sir,
Abortion was legally made available in India through the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971, which permitted the pregnancy to be terminated under specific criteria, such as: to save a woman's life; to protect her physical and mental wellbeing; when there is an economic and social necessity; and in cases of contraception failure between married couples. The Act set the gestational limit for abortion at 20 weeks and when the length of pregnancy exceeded the permissible limit, abortions were performed only with prior permission from the courts or in emergency circumstances, when the life of the women is in danger.[1] Across the globe, over 20 European countries have recognized that whenever there is a physical or mental threat to the women, that can be considered as a ground for abortion irrespective of gestational age.[2] India saw a key change in abortion policies with the introduction of The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021. This Act is hailed to be progressive legislation since the existing gestation limit is increased to 24 weeks. The law also empowers women to seek abortion anytime during the pregnancy; even after completion of the prescribed gestational age limit, provided there are substantial fetal abnormalities. These substantial fetal abnormalities need to be confirmed by the Medical Board. The increased gestational age limit, along with advanced medical technologies, is favorable for women to have safe and effective abortions. The law also permits abortions on the ground of contraceptive failure even among unmarried women which were earlier restricted to the married couple.[3] The law does not recognize the woman's will to opt for abortion. It is opined that legislation that envisages the need to safeguard “dignity, autonomy, confidentiality, and justice for women who need to terminate a pregnancy” is not catering for the same since the power still lies in the hands of the doctor, because it continues to require approval from the doctors and such approvals can be given only under preset clauses.[4] Reproductive freedom of women continues to remain submissive to medical and legal rule.[5] The amendments proposed to the Act are a welcome change for women who need to legally terminate their pregnancies. The strategies and policies, relevant to the effective implementation of this Act, still need to be drafted.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
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| 4. | Barua A, Rastogi A, Deepa V, Jain D, Gupte M, Mallik R, et al. The MTP 2020 amendment bill: Anti-rights subjectivity. Sex Reprod Health Matters 2020;28:1795447.  |
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