News: The Union Cabinet is likely to approve changes in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act
Facts:
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
- It provides the legal framework for making Comprehensive Abortion care (CAC) services available in India.
- The Act allows women to abort foetuses up to 20-weeks-old.
- The law recognises “failure of contraceptive” and “unplanned pregnancy” as legal reasons for abortion only in the case of “married” women.
- Between 12 and 20 weeks the grounds for abortion are limited to:
o Where continuance of a pregnancy would cause risk to the life/physical or mental health of the pregnant woman
o Where there exists a substantial risk that if the child is born it would suffer from physical or mental abnormalities
