Lok Sabha Question No. 3287 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-17
Subject: Change in the Abortion Ceiling
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: T. R. Paarivendhar

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3287 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17 TH  DECEMBER,2021

## CHANGE IN THE ABORTION CEILING

## 3287: DR.T.R.PAARIVENDHAR:

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

- (a) Whether the Government has recently announced new rules for changing the abortion  ceiling  from  20  to  24  weeks  for  women  victims  of  various  causes  like rape, widows, the physically challenged and the mentally ill;
- (b) if so, the details thereof ; and
- (c) Whether the Government proposes to set up any medical board/ experts to examine such people and approve abortions;
- (d) if so, the details thereof ; and
- (e) total  number of abortions that have been done across the country after the announcement of new rules, State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

- (a) to (b) The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Rules, 2021 have been notified on  12 th October,  2021.  Categories  of  vulnerable  women,  who  are  eligible  for  termination  of

pregnancy beyond 20 weeks till 24 weeks of gestation period, have been defined under Rule 3B of MTP (Amendment) Rules, 2021, as follows:

-  Survivors of sexual assault or rape or incest
-  Minors
-  Change of marital status during the ongoing pregnancy (widowhood and divorce)
-  Women with physical disabilities [major disability as per criteria laid down under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (49 of 2016)]
-  Mentally ill women including mental retardation
-  The foetal malformation that has substantial risk of incompatibility with life or if the child is born it may suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities to be seriously handicapped
-  Women with pregnancy in humanitarian settings or disaster or emergency situations as may be declared by the Government

(c)  to  (e) As  defined  under  the  MTP  (Amendment)  Rules,  2021,  opinion  of  two  Registered Medical  Practitioners  will  be  required  for  termination  of  pregnancy  beyond  20  weeks  till  24 weeks of gestation period.

State/UT  wise  abortion  data  available  in  HMIS,  as  reported  by  the  States/UTs,  is  given  in Annexure.

State/UT wise induced abortion data available in HMIS, as reported by the States/UTs*

| State/UT                                     |   Oct-21 |   Nov-21 |
|----------------------------------------------|----------|----------|
| All India                                    |    40452 |    33221 |
| Andaman &Nicobar Islands                     |       88 |       76 |
| Andhra Pradesh                               |      879 |      975 |
| Arunachal Pradesh                            |      141 |      156 |
| Assam                                        |     4199 |     3190 |
| Bihar                                        |      340 |      144 |
| Chandigarh                                   |       18 |       20 |
| Chhattisgarh                                 |      683 |      541 |
| Delhi                                        |      874 |      805 |
| Goa                                          |      107 |       72 |
| Gujarat                                      |      830 |      999 |
| Haryana                                      |     2412 |     1298 |
| Himachal Pradesh                             |      296 |      320 |
| Jammu and Kashmir                            |      416 |      336 |
| Jharkhand                                    |      519 |      319 |
| Karnataka                                    |     2986 |     2120 |
| Kerala                                       |      982 |     1015 |
| Ladakh                                       |       10 |        2 |
| Lakshadweep                                  |        0 |        0 |
| Madhya Pradesh                               |     2147 |     2109 |
| Maharashtra                                  |     9384 |     8902 |
| Manipur                                      |      100 |       72 |
| Meghalaya                                    |       14 |        8 |
| Mizoram                                      |       16 |       14 |
| Nagaland                                     |       54 |       57 |
| Odisha                                       |     1077 |      961 |
| Puducherry                                   |       48 |       21 |
| Punjab                                       |     1225 |       16 |
| Rajasthan                                    |     1532 |     1285 |
| Sikkim                                       |        9 |       12 |
| Tamil Nadu                                   |     3401 |     1774 |
| Telangana                                    |      155 |     1034 |
| The Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu |       37 |       17 |
| Tripura                                      |      168 |      144 |
| Uttarakhand                                  |      187 |      123 |
| Uttar Pradesh                                |     2042 |     1910 |
| West Bengal                                  |     3076 |     2374 |

*December 2021 data has not been reported by States/UTs as on 13.12. 2021.