India – How changes to pregnancy termination bill give women better options for abortion

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, passed by Rajya Sabha, allows abortion between 20 to 24 weeks for 'certain categories of women' with the assent of two doctors.

ANGANA CHAKRABARTI
18 March, 2021

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha Tuesday passed a bill that allows abortion for up to 24 weeks “for special categories of women”, from the existing gestation period of 20 weeks.

The bill amends the current Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, which states that abortion within 12 weeks requires the opinion of one doctor and between 12 to 20 weeks will require the opinion of two doctors.

Continued: https://theprint.in/theprint-essential/how-changes-to-pregnancy-termination-bill-give-women-better-options-for-abortion/623626/


Why Changes To India’s 50-Year-Old Abortion Law Fail Its Women

After decades of advocacy, it took the Lok Sabha only 15 days—without adequate consultation with those involved—to clear amendments to India’s abortion laws. Instead of making abortion easier for women who need it, such as rape survivors, the changes only make it more difficult.

Sept 6, 2020
SWETA DASH

New Delhi: In 2019, a 13-year-old rape survivor in Madhya Pradesh found out she was pregnant and in her 24th week. With the help of Nikita Sonawane, a lawyer associated with the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project (CPAProject), an advocacy, she approached the High Court in June 2019. The court allowed her to go ahead with the termination of pregnancy—but only six weeks later, by which time she already  reached her 30th week.

“The doctors had to induce delivery. She was in labour for 24 hours,” said Sonawane. Her lawyers pleaded for mental-health support but the biggest government hospital in Madhya Pradesh did not have a child psychologist. "Finally, a psychiatrist was arranged, said Sonavane. "It was an immensely harrowing experience for her.”

Continued: https://www.article-14.com/post/why-changes-to-india-s-50-year-old-abortion-law-fail-its-women


India – ‘1.85m Women May Have Failed To Get An Abortion During Lockdown’

Sadhika Tiwari
July 5, 2020

New Delhi: In the first three months of the COVID-19 lockdown, March 25 to June 24, 2020, 47% of the estimated 3.9 million abortions that would have likely taken place in India in this span under normal circumstances were possibly compromised. This means that 1.85 million Indian women could not terminate an unwanted pregnancy, concluded a May 2020 modelling study conducted by the Ipas Development Foundation (IDF), India, a non-profit dedicated to preventing and managing unwanted pregnancies. Of these 1.85 million women, 80% or 1.5 million compromised abortions were due to the lack of availability of medical abortion drugs at pharmacy stores, the study found.

The estimation builds on data from telephone surveys of 509 public-sector facilities across eight states, 52 private-sector providers, expert opinion of members of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), sales data on medical abortion drugs, and trend estimation by pharmaceutical industry experts.

Continued: https://www.indiaspend.com/1-85m-women-may-have-failed-to-get-an-abortion-during-lockdown/


India – Lockdown cuts off access to abortions and sexual health care for many women

Lockdown cuts off access to abortions and sexual health care for many women
Limiting access to contraceptives and medical termination of pregnancies (MTPs) would only result in women turning to unsafe measures.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran
Sunday, May 17, 2020

Two weeks after the lockdown had been announced, 26-year-old Avantika*, a resident of Mumbai found herself panicking after a home pregnancy test she took was positive.

“I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t believe it at first and took 2 more tests which also were positive, and that’s when I really started to panic. I live with my friend and her cousin, who really supported me through the whole process. My friend’s cousin called up a few hospitals near where we live to find out if we could get a scan to confirm the pregnancy, nearly all of them said no,” she says.

continued: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/lockdown-cuts-access-abortions-and-sexual-health-care-many-women-124734


India – Women are finding it difficult to access abortion care, an essential service during lockdown

Women are finding it difficult to access abortion care, an essential service during lockdown
The closure of private clinics, lack of mobility and lockdown rules are restricting women from access to abortion care.

By Nirandhi Gowthaman
6th May 2020

The coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown has adversely affected many communities and subsections of society especially the poor, migrant labourers, marginalised communities and women. Particularly, pregnant women, new mothers and women seeking abortions have been affected due to lack of resources during the lockdown.

The Ministry of Health in its note on providing essential healthcare services said, “Focusing on COVID-19 related activities, and continuing to provide essential services, is important not only to maintain people’s trust in the health system to deliver essential health services, but also to minimise an increase in morbidity and mortality from other health conditions.”

Continued: https://yourstory.com/herstory/2020/05/women-difficult-access-abortion-lockdown-essential-service


India – Unsafe abortion claims 13 lives daily

Unsafe abortion claims 13 lives daily

UNI
Updated: July 26th, 2018

Everyday 13 women die in India due to unsafe abortion related causes, including lack of access to trained abortion providers, lack of knowledge about the legality of abortion and availability of safe services, compounded by the social stigma and abortion.

It was stated during a Media Sensitization Workshop organised by Global Health Strategies here on ‘Ensuring reproductive justice in India : How do we make safe abortion services more accessible?’

Continued: http://www.orissapost.com/unsafe-abortion-claims-13-lives-daily/


INDIA – Need an abortion: join the long march to the Supreme Court in Delhi

INDIA – Need an abortion: join the long march to the Supreme Court in Delhi

by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
Sep 1, 2017

The Supreme Court on Friday said that a minor rape victim should not be forced to knock the doors of the court for getting permission to terminate her pregnancy arising out of any sexual offence.

On 25 August, the Supreme Court ruled that a rape victim who is a minor should not be forced to knock on the doors of the Court for permission to terminate her pregnancy arising out of any sexual offence. This was in response to an appeal for compensation for the 10-year-old girl who recently underwent a caesarean section after being denied an abortion by two courts. The Supreme Court judges also favoured the setting up of a trust for the girl’s benefit. The Justices said that crucial time had been wasted in court proceedings, so that it was thought to be too late and risky to allow an abortion in her case. The court also said that in such cases, medical practitioners should take pro-active steps to come to the rescue of the victim.

However, the Court also agreed with senior advocate Indira Jaising, who contended that continuing the pregnancy was also life threatening in a minor girl and it was the duty of the doctors to allow her to undergo abortion. “The provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act are not properly understood by doctors and they are afraid to help the victims with abortion, fearing criminal prosecution under Section 312 of Indian Penal code,” she said.

But if you thought that this was the end of having to go to the courts for permission for an abortion for a child whose pregnancy is beyond 20 weeks, think again.

After a brief hearing, the bench said that it would examine the larger issue pertaining to minor rape victims and asked Jaising to submit a scheme for creating a trust or foundation to take care of the 10-year old child. The court said that money would be deposited in the trust which would meet medical and day-to-day requirement of the victim, her child and family members.

The bench also directed that identity of the victim, her child and her family members would not be made public and ordered that her medical report be kept in a sealed cover. It also directed Chandigarh’s legal service authority to immediately disburse amount of Rs one lakh to her.

The girl had been raped several times, allegedly by her maternal uncle. She and her family members came to know about her pregnancy when she went to see the doctors for stomach pain and by that time the foetus was about 26-week old.

On 10 August, the Supreme Court set up a medical board to examine the condition of a 20-year-old Pune-based woman who was seeking permission to abort a 24-26-week pregnancy where the fetus was anencephalic. The medical board said “there was no medical treatment for the anomaly” and “the survival rate was minimal”. So the court allowed the abortion.

On 28 August, Sneha Mukherjee, a lawyer with the Human Rights Law Network, petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of the parents of a pregnant 13-year-old rape victim from Mumbai for permission for an abortion for her. At that point, the girl was 30 weeks pregnant. The pregnancy had been discovered when her parents took her to a doctor on 9 August, for treatment for obesity. The Court called for an immediate medical panel to examine the girl and give their opinion. The decision was scheduled for 31 August, but at this writing, no decision had been announced.

Most recently, on 30 August, Dr Rishma D Pai, President of the Federation of Obstetric & Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), went public on the issue (though only with her personal opinion) and said access to safe abortion should be made every woman’s right. She wrote: “Last month, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of a woman seeking to abort her 26-week fetus with a congenital defect. The bench stated that a woman has the “sacrosanct right to her bodily integrity”. The judge leading the bench also stated that “the right of a woman to have a reproductive choice is the right of personal liberty”. After explaining how the 1971 abortion law restricts abortions after 20 weeks and forces so many girls and women to seek court permission, which seems to be denied almost as often as it is provided, she concludes:

It saddens me to know that a woman dies every two hours due to unsafe abortions in our country. This is despite abortion being legal in India for several decades. In fact, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, unsafe abortions are the third-leading cause of maternal deaths in India.”

One aspect of the problem, which is not getting a proper airing, is that the medical panels set up to advise the courts may put forward views on abortion that reveal a lack of knowledge and experience of post-20 week abortions and even anti-abortion sentiments. This may be one reason why some girls and women beyond 20 weeks are permitted an abortion and others are not.

For example, in a judgment of 9 May 2017, the Supreme Court refused an abortion to a woman who had become pregnant as a result of rape. She had initially requested an abortion when she was 17 weeks pregnant. After significant delays at the government hospital, she eventually went to the High Court, which rejected her plea. When her case reached the Supreme Court, she was 26 weeks pregnant. The barriers she encountered throughout illustrate the need for supporting guidelines for medical providers and courts, to clarify the legal entitlements of survivors of rape and sexual abuse, Hanna Kofman, JD, says. The Supreme Court based its decision on the opinion of the medical panel that at 26 weeks the abortion procedure posed a risk to the life of the woman and the fetus. This is hard to fathom. A 26-week abortion is not unsafe as such and it is almost always safer than continuing the pregnancy. To introduce protecting the fetus denies the possibility of abortion completely. The Court held that the woman was entitled to 300,000 rupees compensation from the State of Bihar for the delays she encountered. But nothing was said about their own and the medical panel’s failed responsibility in denying her an abortion.

The Solicitor General of India, Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Centre, told the judges that the Government had, in accordance with the apex court’s earlier direction, communicated to all states and union territories to constitute medical boards and have them in place to deal with such abortion matters. But the need for appropriate qualifications for those on such panels was not mentioned in the news report. Nor was the policy questioned in spite of the delay that the Supreme Court clearly identified as being the result of medical panels and court cases.

SOURCES: Times of India, by Amit Anand Chaudhary, 25 August 2017 ; BBC, 28 August 2017 ; The Hindu, 29 August 2017 ; DNA India, by Dr Rishma D Pai, 30 August 2017 ; Hanna Kofman, ReproHealthLaw Blog, 31 August 2017 ; PHOTO

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Source: http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/india-need-an-abortion-join-the-long-march-to-the-supreme-court-in-delhi/


India: Access to safe abortion should be made every woman’s right

Access to safe abortion should be made every woman’s right

Dr Rishma D Pai | Updated: Aug 30, 2017

Last month, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled in favour of a woman seeking to abort her 26-week foetus with a congenital defect. The bench stated that a woman has the “sacrosanct right to her bodily integrity”. The judge leading the bench also stated that “the right of a woman to have a reproductive choice is the right of personal liberty”.

Continued at source: DNA India: http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/report-dna-edit-access-to-safe-abortion-should-be-made-every-woman-s-right-2541632


Why Is India’s Abortion Law Failing Its Women On So Many Fronts?

Why Is India’s Abortion Law Failing Its Women On So Many Fronts?
The 46-year-old law is among the most liberal in the world, but that's cold comfort to women facing life-or-death situations.

August 4, 2017
Sonali Kokra, Lifestyle Editor

As a 10-year-old little girl, 32 weeks pregnant with her alleged rapist's child, prepares to deliver the baby in Chandigarh, little does she know that her tragic circumstances have rekindled the longstanding abortion debate in the country.

Last week, the Supreme Court, on the recommendations of a medical board set up to examine her for the feasibility of abortion, denied her plea to terminate the pregnancy. Close on her heels was the case of another victim, a 14-year-old mother from UP who made headlines this week when news broke that extreme poverty forced her to marry the man who admitted to raping her just so she could feed the child born out of her abuse.

Continued at source: Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/08/04/why-is-india-s-abortion-law-failing-its-women-on-so-many-fronts_a_23063014/


Abortion is in the news and in the courts across India

Abortion is in the news and in the courts across India
by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
July 18, 2017

Perhaps the most important headline is that 10 women die every day in India as a result of unsafe abortion. That some 30,200 abortions take place daily in India, half of which are unsafe, causing some 3,600 women to experience complications resulting in morbidity and mortality on a daily basis. That unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of maternal deaths in India, contributing to 8% of all maternal deaths annually.  In a country that since the 1970s has had a law allowing abortions on a wide range of grounds.

The problem is multifaceted. There is a huge lack of safe abortion services. There is confusion about what is legal and what is not, particularly in relation to the illegality of sex determination and how that is being confused with the legality of second trimester abortion up to 20 weeks. Many women believe they do not meet the criteria for a legal abortion even though they do, such as young and unmarried women. Or they are in sexual relationships that would condemn them if they revealed their need for an abortion to family members or a clinician. Some doctors demand husband’s permission, which is not legally required. Others charge extortionate fees.

So women go to unauthorised providers, not all of whom are safe. They may choose confidentiality over safety. Many others buy medical abortion pills over the counter without a prescription or information on how to use the pills effectively. Many have no problems but some get bleeding problems and incomplete abortions. This gives the pills a bad name when the problem is lack of information on safe and effective use. Hence, some clinicians condemn the pills to the media.

In Maharashtra, for example, a state government committee investigating deaths in Sangli district allegedly linked to illegal abortions has recommended classifying medical abortion pills the same as narcotics to try to stop sex selective abortions, instead of addressing the problem of discrimination against girls and women. The dean of the Government Medical College in Sangli, who heads the committee, has claimed that abortion pills are poison and called them a “weapon”. In March 2017, a young woman died after allegedly being given medical abortion pills by a homeopathic doctor with no abortion training. Also earlier this year, another state committee had recommended mandatory tracking of every pregnant women with a female fetus, and another recommended tracking every pregnant woman. Suchitra Dalvie, head of the Asia Safe Abortion Partnership, told Scroll In that this confuses the law forbidding sex determination and the law allowing abortion, but this often falls on deaf ears. Ravi Duggal from the Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes argued that these restrictions would lead to bribery of health professionals, victimise women and violate their rights.

Lastly, abortion is only permitted up to 20 weeks of pregnancy in most cases, and because tests for fetal anomaly are often done after 20 weeks, clinicians cannot do abortions in these cases and women end up going to a high court to get permission. The numbers of these cases are growing, or at least the numbers reported in the news are growing. This month, a 19-year-old rape survivor approached a court in Gujarat. She had been raped by a member of her family, did not realise she was pregnant until her father asked her aunt to take her to a doctor. So she was 24 weeks pregnant, beyond the legal time limit, when she sought permission for an abortion on mental health grounds.

While the courts mostly seem willing to give such permission, they are not required to do so, and the delay and cost are high. In one recent case, the woman received a diagnosis of a fatal heart anomaly in the fetus at 21 weeks, but it took a good month for the case to be heard at court and then the abortion had to be arranged. She was 26 weeks pregnant by then. Most women will not have the wherewithal to go to court in this way. According to Dr Devi Shetty, who was treating the woman, a low number of radiologists to screen the high numbers of women who seek screening is also responsible. He called for the law to be reformed to allow abortions up to at least 28 weeks in such cases.

In another case, also reported this month, a woman who had received a diagnosis of a severe neurological condition in her 27th week was refused an abortion by the Supreme Court because the panel of doctors who reviewed her case did not believe it was serious enough. The baby has since been born and is not expected to live. It emerged that the panel of doctors did not include a specialist in neurology.

Hence, the situation is extremely problematic, to say the least. There is a lot of pressure on the central government to improve the situation as the number of doctors seeing women with serious and fatal fetal anomalies speaks out. Pune’s Dr Chaitanya Umarji, who specialises in foetal medicine, said every week he sees a woman seeking abortion beyond the 20-week deadline.Pune’s Dr Chaitanya Umarji, who specialises in foetal medicine, said every week he sees a woman seeking abortion beyond the 20-week deadline.Pune’s Dr Chaitanya Umarji, who specialises in foetal medicine, said every week he sees a woman seeking abortion beyond the 20-week deadline. One specialist in Pune was quoted in the Times of India to say she sees three women a week, for example. But the current government is not yet moving on many of these issues in spite of promises. Pune’s Dr Chaitanya Umarji, who specialises in foetal medicine, said every week he sees a woman seeking abortion beyond the 20-week deadline.

At a recent two-day conference, aimed at building a coalition of safe abortion advocates in India, organised by the Ipas Development Foundation, the issues of low contraceptive use, repeated unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions were central. According to Vinoj Manning, their director, close to 10,000 doctors in the public sector in 13 States have been trained for providing safe abortion services to women. The first safe abortion guidelines issued in 2010 were significant of the national commitment to making abortion safer and have been followed by other progressive policy, including a mass media campaign. However, promises to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 that would allow mid-level health workers to provide safe abortion services have not been fulfilled, and lack of access to second trimester abortion, both before and after 20 weeks of pregnancy, because of fear of accusations of sex selection, all need urgent attention.

Also at the meeting, Dr Atul Ganatra of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Society of India (FOGSI) said that conflict in laws and lack of clarity about laws have resulted in denial of safe abortion services to girls below the age of 18 for fear of prosecution. He called for public education, including for legal experts, on the abortion law and an increase in the 20-week time limit. A representative of Population Services International in India claimed that reduced profits due to price controls had meant many pharmaceutical companies in India has stopped producing medical abortion pills as well.

SOURCES: The India Saga, 11 July 2017 ; The Diplomat, by Ritu Mahendru, 11 July 2017 ; Times of India, 5 July 2017 ; Daily News & Analysis, by Maitri Porecha,  5 July 2017; Times of India, by Prithvijit Mitra, 5 July 2017 ; Hindustan Times, by Sadaguru Pandit, 6 July 2017 ; Times of India, 11 July 2017 ; Scroll In, by Priyanka Vora, 17 July 2017 ; PHOTO


Source: http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/abortion-is-in-the-news-and-in-the-courts-across-india/