Pratigya Campaign: overcoming access barriers to safe abortion in India
by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
Mar 30, 2020
This blog post was written before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Women’s ability to access safe and legal abortion is restricted in law or in practice in many countries around the world. As a result, tens of thousands of women die every year due to the complications arising from unsafe abortion. Access to safe abortion is not just a basic reproductive right, but also an integral part of a woman’s bodily autonomy and integrity.
In India, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 (“MTP Act”) allows women to undergo an abortion up to 20 weeks, subject to certain conditions. The legislation is outdated as it has not kept up with the changing discourse on sexual and reproductive rights and advancements in medical technology. It is estimated that 15.6 million abortions take place annually in India[1], however, there are just 60-70,000 providers who can legally provide abortions under the MTP Act[2] which inevitably leads to a considerable number of unsafe abortions.