India – Medical boards are gatekeeping abortion access

Expert committees constituted to advise courts on medical termination of pregnancy are advocating for the rights of an unborn child, not recognised in Indian law.

By: Ritika Jain
10 May, 2026

The Supreme Court, on April 30, disagreed with an appeal by a medical board, and permitted a 15-year-old girl in her third trimester to terminate her pregnancy. This was the second such case this year alone where the Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has argued for the rights of the foetus. However, the court was informed in a hearing on May 4 that the minor child gave birth to a baby boy on May 2.

The 15-year-old had become pregnant, the petition said, as a result of a consensual relationship with a 17-year-old boy. The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan overruled the Delhi High Court and permitted termination in an order on April 24, which was then challenged by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) seeking protection for an “unborn child”.

Continued; https://www.newslaundry.com/2026/05/11/medical-boards-are-gatekeeping-abortion-access

India’s abortion law and the Chandrachud conundrum

Two conflicting decisions authored by former Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud have created a doctrinal puzzle over whether foetal viability or reproductive autonomy should prevail in late-term abortion cases.

Feb 18, 2026
V.Venkatesan

On February 6, 2026, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan permitted medical termination of a 30-week pregnancy, overturning a Bombay High Court order that had relied on a 2023 Supreme Court precedent to deny permission. The High Court had invoked X v. Union of India (2023 INSC 919), a three-judge bench decision authored by then Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, which had refused termination of a 26-week pregnancy of a married woman. Justice Nagarathna relied instead on a different 2024 three-judge bench decision, also authored by then Chief Justice Chandrachud, which had initially permitted termination, before the parents withdrew their consent, thus leading to recall of the earlier order.

Continued: https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/supreme-court-chandrachud-bvnagarathna-abortion-ruling-2026/article70647595.ece

Gujarat HC refuses abortion for 28-week pregnant minor girl:

Says 14-year-old rape victim’s life at risk & unborn child also has constitutional right to live

Oct 19, 2025

In a judgment refusing permission for 28-week abortion to a 14-year-old rape victim, the High Court noted that in this case, there is a risk to the minor victim's life in abortion and on the other hand, the unborn child also has the right to life.

Therefore, under these circumstances, the court's judicial conscience is not ready to pass an order putting two lives at risk. Hence, permission for abortion cannot be granted.

ontinued: https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/local/gujarat/ahmedabad/news/gujarat-hc-refuses-abortion-for-28-week-pregnant-minor-girl-says-14-year-old-rape-victims-life-at-risk-136209455.html

19.10.2025

News

abortion refusal

Gujarat high court

Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

India – How Amended Abortion Law Is Good But Not Good Enough

The amended Act allows abortions up to 24 weeks for certain categories, like rape/incest survivors, minors, or foetal anomalies, with approval from two doctors or a medical board

Dr Nikhil Datar
October 11, 2025

‘Is my baby normal?’ Asha asked tearfully, her hands clenched tightly around her husband’s arm. I replied that we have run the tests twice and confirmed that her baby has hydrocephalus. I was trying to buy time with technical jargon, hoping she and her husband could compose themselves to receive the next piece of news. Even though it pained me to see the shock and disappointment on their faces, I had no option but to proceed with discussing these facts.

Asha’s unborn baby had developed a large head with fluid filling its brain, compressing the developing neural tissue. There was also a cyst on the spinal cord called a meningomyelocele. “Babies with hydrocephalus and meningomyelocele are born alive but will be severely restrained both physically and mentally," I told them. “Sometimes, they are paralysed from the waist down. Treatments and surgeries may help, but often, the outcomes aren’t great."

Continued: https://www.news18.com/opinion/opinion-how-amended-abortion-law-is-good-but-not-good-enough-9629694.html

11.10.2025

Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

India – Over 200 Med Shops Face Action for Sale of Abortion Drugs

The DCA informed the citizens that abortion kits are to be used only under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner (RMP) after proper clinical evaluation and ultrasound.

16 September 2025

Hyderabad: Showcause notices were issued to around 234 medical shops regarding discrepancies in the sale of abortion or medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) kits (abortifacient drugs) and licenses of around 165 medical shops were suspended, while seven others were cancelled as part of departmental action carried out by the state Drug Control Administration (DCA).

The DCA officials informed on Tuesday that special raids were conducted to combat the illegal sale of abortion kits between August 22 and September 15. Around 809 inspections were done during this period on several medical shops and unauthorised practitioners, focusing on detecting the unauthorised sale of abortion (medical termination of pregnancy) kits, including tablets such as mifepristone and misoprostol, classified under Schedule H of the Drugs Rules.

Continued: https://www.deccanchronicle.com/southern-states/telangana/over-200-med-shops-face-action-for-sale-of-abortion-drugs-1904157

16.09.2025

News

Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

India – Abortion law faces heat in HC over mental health clause

57-year-old petitioner challenges provision allowing gynaecologists to clear abortions on presumed anguish from failed contraception; court issues notice to Centre, next hearing on Sept 16

by Manraj Grewal Sharma
August 6, 2025

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Union government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a 57-year-old Hisar resident challenging the legal provision that allows abortions based on presumed mental health injury without requiring evaluation by a psychiatrist.

Deepak Kumar, the petitioner, has sought a declaration that a key clause under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, particularly Section 3(2) and Explanation 1, is unconstitutional. He argues that the provision violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution by allowing gynaecologists to terminate pregnancies on mental health grounds, even though they are not qualified to assess psychological conditions. He has also asked the court to rule that abortions should only be allowed when the life of the woman or the fetus is in immediate danger, not in cases of failed contraception or presumed mental anguish.

Continued: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/abortion-law-hc-over-mental-health-clause-10173788/

06.08.2025

News

Deepak Kumar

Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

Punjab and Haryana High Court

India’s Abortion Laws Offer Pregnant Women an Illusion of Choice

Complicated, overlapping and contradictory legislation places decisions in the hands of the medical and judicial establishments

Sohel Sarkar
September 9, 2024

In October 2023, a 27-year-old woman approached the Supreme Court in India with a petition to terminate her pregnancy, which was over 24 weeks. She had discovered it late and was undergoing treatment for postpartum psychosis following the birth of her second child, which left her without the “physical, mental, psychological and financial” wherewithal to continue with a third pregnancy. A two-judge bench initially ruled in her favor, affirming “the right of a woman over her body.”

Yet the law in India only allows for terminations over 24 weeks in cases of fetal abnormalities or to save the life of the mother, and the case was later reopened after a doctor from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a premier hospital and medical college in Delhi where the abortion was to be conducted, asked for a court directive on whether a “feticide” could be performed since the fetus, in her words, was “normal.”

Continued: https://newlinesmag.com/argument/indias-abortion-laws-offer-pregnant-women-an-illusion-of-choice/

09.09.2024

Commentary

1940 Drugs and Cosmetics Act

Abubha Rastogi

All India Institute of Medical Sciences

Asia Safe Abortion Partnership

Center for Reproductive Rights

CommonHealth India

conscientious objection

maternal mortality rate

medical boards for abortion

Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act

sex detection test

Shantilal Shah

Subha Shri Balakrishnan

Suchitra Dalvie

World Health Organization

India – Supreme Court allows abortion of minor rape survivor

By : AgencyFirst
Monday, Apr 22, 2024

New Delhi (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday allowed medical termination of the pregnancy of a 14-year-old rape survivor while noting that continuing the pregnancy may harm the physical and mental health of the minor.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala, allowing the girl to undergo abortion who is over 29 weeks pregnant, held that the urgency of the situation and the welfare of the minor necessitated the medical termination of pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=183104&headline=SC-allows-abortion-of-minor-rape-survivor

22.04.2024

Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

Meet Mumbai advocates fighting against abortion law to bring women justice

29 October, 2023
Neerja Deodhar

Time is of the essence in these cases,” Anubha Rastogi, an advocate at the Bombay High Court, says at her Fort office. Outside, as the clock strikes two, the bells of the Rajabai Tower toll, underscoring the immediacy she speaks of.

Earlier this week, Rastogi and her associate Rachita Padwal represented a woman who wished to end her 26-week pregnancy. Following a medical board’s assessment about the woman’s mental and physical fitness to undergo the procedure, the HC passed an order allowing the termination. But the lawyers’ work didn’t end there; they made additional suggestions about medical boards themselves—typically comprising a gynaecologist, radiologist, paediatrician, among other experts—and the lack of awareness around them.

Continued: https://www.mid-day.com/sunday-mid-day/article/a-suitable-ruling-23317012

29.10.2023

Commentary

Anubha Rastogi

Bombay High Court

medical boards for abortion

Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

Abortion laws in India: What changes did 2021 Amendment brought

13 Oct 2023
Kakoli Nath

In a country as diverse as India, the conversation around abortion or medical termination of pregnancy isn't just about laws; it's a deeply personal and medical choice. India's abortion laws have evolved significantly over the years. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of 1971 was a crucial milestone, decriminalizing abortion in specific circumstances.

The recent 2021 amendment to this 1971 Act expanded access to safe and legal abortions, reflecting a commitment to comprehensive care allowing married women to terminate pregnancies up to 20 weeks with a single RMP's approval. Whereas termination of pregnancies between 20-24 weeks of gestation requires opinion of 2 RMP's. Now, what about medical termination beyond 24 weeks, is it allowed? Because at this stage, the status of the fetus is critical.

Continued: https://blog.finology.in/Legal-news/abortion-laws-in-india

13.10.2023