Abortion period increased from 20 to 24 weeks by Union Cabinet

January 29: The Cabinet approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. The bill will be introduced in the next Parliament session. The Bill extended the upper limit for permitting abortions from 20 to 24 weeks. Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the move will ensure safe termination of pregnancies and give women reproductive rights over their bodies.

In a press release, it was stated that, “Enhancing the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women which will be defined in the amendments to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Rules and would include ‘vulnerable women including survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women [like differently-abled women, Minors] etc.”

For unmarried women, the Bill seeks to relax the contraceptive-failure condition for “any woman or her partner” from the present provision for “only married woman or her husband”, allowing them to medically terminate the pregnancy.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said in a press meet after the Cabinet Meeting, “”In a progressive reform and giving reproductive rights to women the limit of 20 weeks of medical termination of pregnancy has been increased to 24 weeks. This is important because in first 5 months there are cases where the girl concerned doesn’t realise and has to go to court. This was discussed with various stakeholders. This will reduce maternal mortality.”