Rajya Sabha passed a Bill to raise the upper limit for permitting abortions from the present 20 weeks to 24 for special categories of women — including rape survivors, victims of incest, minors and differently-abled.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 was passed by voice vote on March 16. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha about a year ago.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the amendments in the Bill have been made after studying global practices and wide consultation within the country.

Why the govt brings in amendments?

• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 was enacted to provide for the termination of certain pregnancies by registered medical practitioners and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

• The said Act recognised the importance of safe, affordable, accessible abortion services to women who need to terminate pregnancy under certain specified conditions.

• With the passage of time and advancement of medical technology for safe abortion, there is a scope for increasing upper gestational limit for terminating pregnancies, especially for vulnerable women and for pregnancies with substantial foetal anomalies detected late in pregnancy. 

• Further, there is also a need for increasing access of women to legal and safe abortion service in order to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity caused by unsafe abortion and its complications. 

• Considering the need and demand for increased gestational limit under certain specified conditions and to ensure safety and well-being of women, the government proposed to amend the said Act. 

• Also, several writ petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court and various High Courts seeking permission for aborting pregnancies at gestational age beyond the present permissible limit on the grounds of foetal abnormalities or pregnancies due to sexual violence faced by women.

Highlights of the amended Bill:

• 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, without compromising on safety and quality of care.

• Under the new Act, pregnancy can be terminated where the length of the pregnancy exceeds 20 weeks but does not exceed 24 weeks if no less than two registered medical practitioners are of the opinion that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury to her physical or mental health or there is substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from any serious physical or mental abnormality.

• It increases the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women which is defined in the amendments to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules and includes vulnerable women including survivors of rape, victims of incest, differently-abled, minors, etc.

• The Act bars registered medical practitioners from revealing the name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated as per the new law except to a person authorised by any law during that time.

• Anyone who violates the privacy norms defined under the Act may be punished with imprisonment of up to one year or fine or both under amended Act. 

• Every state government and Union Territory administration will have to constitute a medical board comprising a gynaecologist, a paediatrician, a radiologist or sonologist and any member as may be notified by the respective government to handle functions under prescribed by rules under the new Act.

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