Unsafe abortions is a critical reproductive health issue in India that needs attention : Debanjana Choudhuri

Pratigya Campaign is focusing on addressing the serious issue of gender-biased sex selection while protecting women’s right to safe and legal abortion services in India.

Written by Shardul Nautiyal
January 17, 2022

In India, the conversation on abortion is riddled by social stigma, lack of registered MTP providers and lack of awareness on laws.

Pratigya Campaign has attempted to bridge the gap by populating a database of approved Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) providers so that pregnant women can connect to a verified provider. Since its inception in late 2020, the database of Pratigya Campaign has been accessed by over 2,000 people.

Continued: https://www.financialexpress.com/healthcare/diagnostic/unsafe-abortions-is-a-critical-reproductive-health-issue-in-india-that-needs-attention-debanjana-choudhuri/2408789/

Abortion in India: Bridging the gap between progressive legislation and implementation

When India first passed its abortion legislation in 1971, it was one of the most progressive laws in the world. Fifty years and an amendment later, the country is struggling to offer rights-based abortion care.

Date 18.11.2021
Seerat Chabba (New Delhi)

Shilpa (name changed) found out she was pregnant at the age of 21. She had just enrolled herself into graduate school in India's commercial capital of Mumbai. Distraught and alone in a big city, she took an auto-rickshaw to the nearest hospital and got an appointment with a gynecologist.

Braving judgmental glances, the first question that she had to answer was: "Are you married?" In many parts of India, this question is asked when the doctor wants to know whether the person has been sexually active. Premarital sex remains taboo.

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/abortion-in-india-bridging-the-gap-between-progressive-legislation-and-implementation/a-59853929

India – Is Media Channeling The Right Information On Abortion?

By Nayla Khwaja
September 16, 2021

As we know, pregnancy is usually celebrated
in Indian society and is considered a blessing and especially so, abortion
remains a tricky subject and has long been considered a taboo.

Abortion has been legal in India for past 50 years under certain circumstances
with the introduction of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 – “It can be performed until 24 weeks
pregnancy after Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act amendment 2021 comes in
force by notification in Gazette of India with notification of formation of
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment 2021 rules and regulations.” Until
then, abortion law in India allowed termination of pregnancy till 20 weeks. The
latest amendments to the MTP act further increase the upper gestation limit for
termination of pregnancies under special conditions and aim to improve access
to safe and quality services for women.

Continued: https://feminisminindia.com/2021/09/16/is-media-channeling-the-right-information-on-abortion/

16.09.2021

Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 1971

MTP Act

sex selection abortion

India – What is the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020

By Briti Roy Barman
Tuesday, February 2, 2021

On January 29, 2020, the Union Cabinet approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.

The Bill seeks to extend the termination of pregnancy period from 20 weeks to 24 weeks, making it easier for women to safely and legally terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.oneindia.com/india/explainer-what-is-the-medical-termination-of-pregnancy-amendment-bill-2020-3211039.html

02.02.2021

Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill 2020

Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 1971

India – The MTP Bill Would Put Doctor Panels in Charge of Approving Late‑Stage Abortion; It’s Unfeasible and Unnecessary.

By Dipika Jain & Kavya Kartik
Feb 1, 2021

From 2015 to 2019 in Assam, 51,000 women sought treatment for complications arising from unsafe abortions. In Madhya Pradesh, 36 women died in 2018 and 56 women died in 2019 from unsafe abortions. As recently as January 2021, a 15-year-old girl died from pregnancy-related complications in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, after being denied permission to abort. A 2019 study analysing a sample of 1.8 million women from nine states found that two-thirds of abortions in India are unsafe. Despite being completely preventable, unsafe abortion continues to be the third leading cause of maternal deaths in the country. The legal framework on abortion in India, along with the dismal investment in public health care, act as major barriers to safe abortion access and prevent pregnant persons from getting the health care services they need.

Continued: https://theswaddle.com/the-mtp-bill-would-put-doctor-panels-in-charge-of-approving-late-stage-abortion-its-unfeasible-and-unnecessary/

India – The amendments in the MTP Act bill are flawed| Analysis

The amendments in the MTP Act bill are flawed| Analysis
A woman’s right to reproductive freedom remains subordinated to the medical and legal regime

Feb 28, 2020
Vrinda Grover

The Union Cabinet’s approval of the Amendments to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 1971, in January, sets the stage for a small though belated step forward. In a country where unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of maternal mortality, taking a toll of 13 lives each day, the law and the health system will need to do much more than the proposed MTP Amendments Bill, 2020.

It is a welcome amendment that the bill inter alia proposes to place an unmarried woman and her partner at par with a married woman and her husband, in securing abortion due to contraceptive failure. Jurisprudentially, this carries forward the rationale of the law against domestic violence which makes no distinction between the rights and protections available to a woman, whether in marriage or a live-in relationship. This recognition of women’s sexual agency will encourage access to safe abortion facilities as the stigma is erased.

Continued: https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/the-amendments-in-the-mtp-act-bill-are-flawed-analysis/story-H0DZJUAWWopQZKPzbLXyJL.html

India – Explained: Why it is important to amend Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971?

Explained: Why it is important to amend Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971?

By Simran Kashyap
Published: Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Moving to ease abortion laws in the country, the Union Cabinet is likely to approve changes in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971. The draft has been circulated by the ministry of health and family welfare.

According to the 2014 draft bill, the upper limit for termination of a pregnancy will be extended from 20 weeks to 24 weeks. This will help in decreasing maternal morbidity and mortality and may also help in preventing wastage of resources invested in a pregnancy and preserving the woman's health, strength, and above all, life.

Continued: https://www.oneindia.com/india/explained-why-it-is-important-to-amend-medical-termination-of-pregnancy-act-1971-3023256.html

29.01.2020

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abortion ban after 20 weeks

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Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 1971

MTP Act

POCSO Act

Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act

India – Safe abortion: every woman’s right and her decision alone

Safe abortion: every woman’s right and her decision alone

Updated: Sep 28, 2019
Sanchita Sharma, Hindustantimes

There’s been a spurt in women approaching the Supreme and High Courts seeking permission to end their pregnancies, but the judgments have been conflicting, according to a new analysis of court judgments by the not-for-profit Pratigya Campaign for Gender Equality and Safe Abortion.

Over the last three years, 194 women have gone to courts seeking abortions in traumatic circumstances including rape, risk to life and mental health, or foetal abnormalities, but the judgments have been unpredictable, found the report, released on Saturday.

Continued: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/safe-abortion-every-woman-s-right-and-her-decision-alone/story-TuyEHBau4TpxMHuyMBUsdK.html

India – Women’s empowerment is incomplete without access to safe abortion, but this just got worse

Women’s empowerment is incomplete without access to safe abortion, but this just got worse

September 28, 2019
VS Chandrashekar

Women’s reproductive rights in general, and abortion in particular, have been the subject of intense debate globally. Even in countries where the law permits abortions women battle stigma, bias, lack of awareness and information, all of which result in restriction of access to safe abortion.

Almost 48 years after abortion was legalised in India, a majority of women continue to lack access to safe abortion care. Unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of maternal mortality in India. Every day 10 women die in India due to unsafe abortion-related causes and many more suffer from morbidities such as pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility, which are related to unsafe abortion practices – ranging from home remedies to inserting sharp foreign objects into the cervix.

Continued: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/womens-empowerment-is-incomplete-without-access-to-safe-abortion-but-this-just-got-worse/

India – Abortion a right not privilege. On Safe Abortion Day, govt must consider amending MTP Act

Abortion a right not privilege. On Safe Abortion Day, govt must consider amending MTP Act
In 1971, India became one of the first countries to legalise abortion, but today its healthcare system is lagging behind and doing a great disservice to women.

Nozer Sheriar
Updated: 28 September, 2019

Forty-eight years ago, in 1971, when conversations about women’s reproductive health and rights were still in nascent stages across the world, India became one of the first countries to ensure that women have access to a crucial reproductive health need — that of having a safe, legal abortion.

Today, however, India’s laws and systems have lagged behind and we are doing a great disservice to the women in our country by limiting their control over their wombs because of challenges discussed here.

Continued: https://theprint.in/opinion/abortion-a-right-not-privilege-on-safe-abortion-day-modi-govt-must-consider-amending-mtp-act/298238/