Status of Abortion in India

Published on 17 Feb 2025

In India, the choice of abortion has been guided by The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 on the recommendation of the Shantilal Committee. The legislation was amended in 2021, according to which a pregnant woman can choose abortion if the gestation period is less than 24 weeks. Abortions not covered under this legislation are considered unlawful in India.

Arguments supporting Abortion rights / Pro-Choice advocates

✔     Women’s autonomy: Women have individual autonomy to make decisions concerning their body, and hence should decide whether to continue to terminate pregnancy.

✔     Reduce unsafe abortion: Restricting abortion leads to increased cases of unsafe abortions, which can risk women’s lives.

●      Example: As per UNFPA report, unsafe abortions are the third leading cause of maternal mortality in India, with around 8 women dying each day.

✔     Impact on physical and mental health: The women may not be mentally and physically prepared to undertake a pregnancy, which can have a deteriorating health impact. The child, which is a product of unplanned pregnancy may also suffer from health deficiency.

●      Example: WHO states that countries with stricter abortion laws have a maternal mortality rate three times higher than countries with less restrictive laws.

✔     Overpopulation: Poor family planning has led to unplanned pregnancy cases, which has led to overpopulation in India. Exercising abortion could aid in controlling this overpopulation.

●      Example: As per research paper in Biomedical Centre, there are 70 unintended pregnancies per 1000 women aged between 15 to 49 years in India, which needs to be controlled.

✔     Socio-economic conditions: Financial instability or concerns about the well-being of existing children may drive parents to move towards abortion. They believe it is necessary to develop a child in a healthy manner without any coercion.

●      Example: 2017 National Family Health Survey indicates more unsafe abortions among rural poor.

Arguments opposing Abortion rights / Pro-Life advocates

✔     Right to Life: Pro-life supporters believe that human life begins at conception, and hence unborn children also possess the right to life, which must be protected.

✔     Misused for selective abortion: The right to abort could be misused by the parents for selective abortion once they could identify the sex of the baby in any illegal manner.

●      Example: 5 districts in Karnataka witnessed sex ratio falling below 900, indicating the prevalence of sex selective abortion in many places in India.

✔     Ethics and morality: The act of abortion questions the morality of the person, with the cultural and religious norms opposing such measures.

●      Example: The ethical norms of the Roman Catholic Church opposes abortion in all circumstances, thus bringing a moral dilemma for the believers of that religion.

✔     Psychological impact on parents: Abortion might induce regret, guilt or other negative consequences on the parents, affecting their mental health.

●      Example: Studies indicate the women during the post abortion phase suffered from decreased self-esteem, nightmare, guilt and expressed self-destructive behaviour.

✔     Better use of medical advancement: Medical science has advanced to treat many cases of foetal abnormalities, and hence abortion need not be an immediate alternative.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 2021

Criteria	Feature	Significance	Concerns persisting
Applicability	✔     Unmarried women also covered	✔     De-stigmatizing relations outside marriage.	✔     Transgender community not covered.
Gestational limit for termination	✔     Increased to 24 weeks, but only for rape survivors, minor, physically disabled, mental retardation, marital status change and fetal abnormality. ✔     Beyond 24 weeks, only for substantial foetal abnormality.	✔     Enhanced bodily autonomy for a special category of vulnerable women. ✔     Reduction in material deaths.	✔     No recourse for vulnerable pregnant women after 24 weeks.
Approval from registered medical practitioner	✔     Till 20 weeks: 1 medical practitioner ✔     20 to 24 week: 2 medical practitioner ✔     Beyond 24 weeks: State Medical Board	✔     Easing the process of termination for pregnancy up to 20 weeks. ✔     The State level Medical Board takes up cases which previously burdened the courts.	✔     Incorporation of the State Medical Board is an excessive intervention by the state on individual rights. ✔     No time frame for medical board decision. ✔     Shortage of recognized medical practitioners.
Privacy	✔     Data related to termination shall be kept confidential, with violation attracting jail term.	✔     Protecting the dignity and privacy of women.	✔     Fear of persecution still persists.

Way forward

✔     Non-discriminatory and equal abortion rights: As per WHO guidelines, states should fully decriminalize abortion, removing all the gestation limits.

✔     Create more registered medical practitioners: More specialised medical professionals need to be accommodated into the health system so as to prevent unsafe abortions.

✔     Increase the ambit of the legislation: Include transgenders and other vulnerable women suffering from financial constraints or lactational amenorrhea.

Abortion has always been a debatable issue with difficulty in balancing rights and morality. However, India’s abortion law has been successful in maintaining a middle-ground, without going for the extremes. Better regulation of the healthcare system, increasing the medical professionals and making the act more inclusive could make the legislation much better.

Tags:
Social Justice

Keywords:
Abortion Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act Shantilal Committee Women

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 2

Topics:
Social Justice