{"id":39990,"date":"2025-03-28T19:19:21","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T13:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=39990"},"modified":"2025-03-28T19:19:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T13:49:23","slug":"india-medical-termination-of-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-03-2025\/india-medical-termination-of-pregnancy","title":{"rendered":"The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some doctors express <strong>ethical discomfort<\/strong> about performing abortions, especially as the pregnancy progresses.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Concerns intensify in cases of advanced gestation, where <strong>Foet<\/strong><strong>al viability debates<\/strong> emerge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Foetal Viability Debate:<\/strong> Viability refers to the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, but no definitive moment exists.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As pregnancy advances, the fetus&#8217;s right to life grows stronger, making viability a contentious issue in legal and ethical discussions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India&#8217;s Legal Stance on Abortion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act <\/strong>permits abortions in <strong>specific predetermined situations<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Before the enactment of the MTP Act in 1971, <\/strong>the medical termination of pregnancy was governed by the <strong>Indian Penal Code (IPC).<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Most of these provisions aimed at <strong>criminalising abortions,<\/strong> except where the procedure was done in good faith in order to save the woman\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The provisions<strong> failed to make a distinction<\/strong> between <strong>wanted and unwanted pregnancies,<\/strong> making it extremely onerous for women to access safe abortions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In 1971, the MTP Act <\/strong>was enacted by Parliament as a <strong>\u201chealth\u201d measure, <\/strong>to <strong>decriminalise abortion in certain defined circumstances <\/strong>and under due supervision of registered medical practitioners.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A pregnancy could only be terminated <strong>under Section 3(2) if it did not exceed 20 weeks.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It laid down that the pregnancy can be terminated on the opinion of <strong>one doctor if it is done within 12 weeks<\/strong> of conception and <strong>two doctors if it is done between 12 and 20 weeks.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The 2021 amendment to the MTP Act: <\/strong>Rule 3B permitted <strong>abortion up to 24 weeks<\/strong> for women due to change of marital status during the ongoing pregnancy, besides in cases of survivors of rape, victims of incest, and other vulnerable women.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It also replaced the word <strong>\u201cby any married woman or her husband\u201d<\/strong> with the words <strong>\u201cany woman or her partner\u201d, <\/strong>bringing within the fold of the law <strong>pregnancies outside marriage institutions.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>After 24 weeks,<\/strong> the MTP Act requires <strong>medical boards of expert doctors to be set up by the state government<\/strong> in each district, which opine on whether to allow termination of pregnancy in case of <strong>substantial foetal abnormality.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments in favour of MTP<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bodily Autonomy and Reproductive Rights: <\/strong>Women should have the autonomy to make decisions about their own bodies, the Supreme Court has emphasized the importance of reproductive rights as part of personal liberty.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Physical Health: <\/strong>If carrying a pregnancy threatens a woman&#8217;s health, including conditions like gestational diabetes or eclampsia, abortion may be justified to protect her life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mental Health: <\/strong>In cases where pregnancy exacerbates mental health conditions (e.g., postpartum depression or psychosis), abortion may be necessary to safeguard the mental health of the mother.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Non-Viable Fetuses: <\/strong>If the fetus has congenital abnormalities or conditions incompatible with life, abortion may be ethically acceptable to avoid prolonged suffering for the child.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Unplanned Pregnancies: <\/strong>For women facing economic or social hardships, the ability to access abortion services can allow them to avoid further challenges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reduction in Unsafe Abortions:<\/strong> Legal access to abortion reduces the number of unsafe, illegal abortions that often lead to serious health risks or even death for women.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments Against MTP<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Right to Life of the Fetus:<\/strong> Ethical objections argue that the fetus has a right to life, especially as pregnancy progresses and fetal viability increases, making abortion less acceptable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Emotional and Psychological Effects:<\/strong> Terminating a pregnancy can have long-term psychological consequences for the woman, including guilt, regret, and emotional trauma.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Non-Medical Abortions: <\/strong>There is a concern that allowing abortion may lead to its normalization as a method of birth control, rather than a rare and necessary medical intervention.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Risk of Misuse: <\/strong>There is a concern that abortion laws may be misused, such as for sex-selective abortions or for non-medical reasons, like convenience.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Negative Impact on Society: <\/strong>Widespread abortion could contribute to a decline in societal values regarding family and the value of life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural Beliefs:<\/strong> Cultural norms often view abortion as morally unacceptable, especially when it\u2019s perceived as a violation of the natural order or traditional family structures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Access to Abortion Care: <\/strong>Making MTP pills more accessible and reducing administrative barriers could improve abortion access.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Improved sex education and viewing abortion as a health service <\/strong>rather than a legal exception might help reduce stigma.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Empathy in Medical Decision-Making:<\/strong> Doctors are encouraged to treat women with empathy, especially in emotionally and physically challenging situations involving late-term abortions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/health\/access-to-abortion-foetal-viability-and-the-laws-thereof-women-are-caught-in-the-crossfire\/article69373089.ece#:~:text=The%20most%20recent%20amendment%20to,reviewed%20by%20a%20medical%20board.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some doctors express ethical discomfort about performing abortions, especially as the pregnancy progresses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39990"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39991,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39990\/revisions\/39991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}