Lok Sabha Question No. 340 (STARRED), answered on 2017-03-24
Subject: Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: VINCENT H PALA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 340 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 24 TH MARCH, 2017

## *340. SHRI VINCENT H. PALA:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) the salient features of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to amend the said Act, so as to increase thegestation  period  for  abortion  from  20  to  24 weeks  and  if  so,  the  details the reof and the time by which the said amendment is likely to be implemented;
- (c) whether the increase in gestation period from 20 to 24 weeks might risk the health of the mother; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the provisions proposed by the Governm entto ensure the safety of the mother's health, if the abortion is conducted in the 24 th week?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE ( SHRI JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA )

- (a) to (d):      A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 340* FOR 24 TH MARCH, 2017

- a) The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act came into existence in 1971.  The  Act  recognizes  the  importance  of  providing  safe,  affordable, accessible and  acceptable abortion services  to  women  who  need  to terminate a pregnancy under certain conditions.

The main salient features of the existing Act are:

- The MTP is to be conducted by a Registered Medical Practitioner(RMP)  at  an  approved  place  and    for  conditions  as defined under the Act;
- The upper gestation limit  for  all  categories  of  women  seeking  MTP services is up to 20 weeks ;
- Opinion of one RMP required for gestation up to 12 weeks and of two RMPs for termination of pregnancy  in second trimester;
- b) The  Ministry  of  Health  and  Family  Welfare  has  recommended amendments to the MTP Act 1971.

Based  on  the  recommendation  from  the  National  Commission  for Women (NCW),  one  of  the  proposal  is  to  increase  the  gestation  limit from the present 20 weeks to 24 weeks for special categories of women.

The  details  of  the  category  would  be  defined  in  the  Rules  and  is expected to include survivors of rape and incest,  single  women (unmarried/  divorced/widowed)  and  other  vulnerable  women  (women with disabilities). The proposal for amendment has been submitted to the Cabinet for consideration.

## c & d)

1. Conditions  which  pose  a  threat  to  the  life  of  a  pregnant  woman irrespective  of  the  period  of  gestation  are  already  covered  in Section 5 of the present act.
2. The Honorable Supreme Court have also allowed termination of pregnancy beyond 20 weeks in some cases e.g. WP(C) no 593 of 2016(gestational age 23 weeks and 3 days) and WP(C) no 17 of 2017(gestational age 24 th weeks).
3. Once the approval of the proposed amendments is received from parliament, the rules and  regulations for the termination of pregnancy  during  the  gestation  period  between  20-24  weeks would  be framed  which  would  take  care  of  the  safety  of  the mother.

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