Is abortion legal in India?

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Rules, 2021 were notified by the Central Government which extended the period for getting a legal abortion from 20 to 24 weeks in certain cases.

Which Indian law regulates abortions?

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, provides for the termination of certain pregnancies by authorised doctors with the necessary medical qualifications and experience. 

Who can get an abortion in India?

Under certain conditions such as rape, any woman can get an abortion. For failure of contraceptives, only married women were allowed to get abortions – this was changed by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021. Presently, any woman is permitted to get an abortion for contraceptive failure too, within 20 weeks of the pregnancy.

At what stage is abortion legally permitted?

Under Section 3 of the Act, an abortion is legally permitted only if the woman is less than twenty weeks pregnant. However, an abortion even after twenty weeks is allowed if an authorised doctor in good faith believes that the termination of pregnancy is immediately necessary to save a pregnant woman’s life.

As per the 2021 Rules, this period is extended to 24 weeks in the following cases:

• survivors of sexual assault or rape or incest;
• minors;
• change of marital status during the ongoing pregnancy (widowhood and divorce);
• women with physical disabilities [major disability as per criteria laid down under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (49 of 2016)];
• mentally ill women including mental retardation;
• the foetal malformation that has substantial risk of being incompatible with life or if the child is born it may suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities to be seriously handicapped; and
• women with pregnancy in humanitarian settings or disaster or emergency situations as may be declared by the Government.”

Place for conducting an abortion

An abortion should only be conducted in a government hospital, or a government-approved centre for conducting abortions.

Anyone who terminates a pregnancy in an unauthorised place can be punished with imprisonment for two to seven years.  

To know more, read here.