India eases abortion laws, launches schemes, to enrich women’s reproductive healthcare
*Names of the interviewees have been altered at their discretion to protect the privacy of the individuals *

The year 2021 marked the first of India’s revolutionary steps towards the alleviation of abortion restrictions for women across the country. This move came in the form of the amendment of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of 1971 under which women of all ages and marital statuses are now permitted to have surgical abortions even at 20 to 24 weeks of pregnancy and, under extenuating circumstances of foetal abnormalities and threat to mother’s life, beyond 24 weeks as well.
The 1971 MTP Act originally decriminalized the termination of pregnancy and allowed abortions up to 20 weeks of pregnancy on socio-economic grounds alongside medical circumstances. With the new changes to its contents, this law is aimed at reaching women in need on a macro scale, facilitating ease of access, and promoting the significance of contraceptives.
Since its amendment, many women have relied on the MTP Act to seek out professional medical consultations and surgeries for late-stage abortions. A.G., a 48-year-old mother of 2 from Dehradun, says that the amendment rescued her from a risky pregnancy and her unborn child from instability.
“I found out I was pregnant last year around September, and I immediately knew I couldn’t keep it because I was too old,” recalls A.G, “My in-laws did not allow me to follow through with an abortion, even after knowing that my age will affect the pregnancy and me as well.”
When at 20 weeks, quite far ahead into the pregnancy, A.G. began experiencing severe discomfort and a slew of illnesses like, bloody vomit, fainting spells, and recurrent high fevers. An emergency run to her OB/GYN confirmed her suspicions of dangerous foetal development due to her age and several underlying ailments from the onset of perimenopause (early menopause).
“My children were my rock at the time and they, along with Dr. Reshma informed me about the change in law as I was worried about the legalities in aborting at such a developed stage,” says A.G.
Under the MTP Act 2021, abortion of foetus below 24 weeks does not require more than one medical recommendation by professional or spouse’s consent, in contrast to the previous version of the decree which mandated at least two recommendations and spouse’s consent to legitimize the abortion. This allowed A.G. to successfully terminate her dangerous pregnancy, one that could have endangered her life as well as the child’s, under appropriate medical conditions and insurance after speedy approval by the local judiciary on valid grounds.
It is apparent from A.G.’s testimonial that the amended statute has provided Indian women with much-needed reassurance and support regarding their reproductive health, moving away from the traditional ideologies of viewing abortion as a ‘taboo’ or ‘sin’ and instead educating the public about the benefits of the same and ramifications of illegal, unsafe, and alternative abortion methods.
The MTP 2021 has put India on a glorious global standard of progress and development. With abortion being a historically ‘Western’ concept, India’s bold acceptance and encouragement of surgical contraception on such considerable levels has surpassed even the West who, startlingly, have recently moved towards restricting abortion almost entirely.
Dr. Suzanne Bell is an associate professor of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health at Bloomberg School of Public Health in John Hopkins University, U.S.A. She says that the rejection of abortion as a choice is a “disgraceful epidemic”.
“Over the years, the U.S. has taken several steps backwards by closing doors of contraception for women. Young girls across the region are losing lives and livelihoods because of unwanted, accidental, and forceful pregnancies that they are banned from terminating,” expresses Dr. Bell.
Current statistics show that 14 American states, like Idaho and Texas, have completely banned abortion, both medicinal and surgical, while 28 states have a restricted gestational limit ranging from before 6 weeks to not above 15 weeks. This is a massive shift in dynamics from 1973, the year Roe V Wade was formulated by the Supreme Court that protected the right to abortion as part of the constitutional integrity of the country, wherein all 50 states of the United States of America allowed safe and discretionary termination of pregnancy for all women. This decree was overturned last year by the Supreme Court and thus ensued a nationwide protest for the right to abortion and, largely, choice.
“It’s not like the figures of abortion were constant even after the conception of Roe V Wade but the average rates prior to 2022 was calculated as 25 women per 1,000 women opted for abortion,” Dr. Bell goes on to detail, “Now, the numbers have increased but all these terminations are unsafe and illegal, proving to be a danger to the mother.”
There is also, says Dr. Bell, a large number of inter-state travelling recorded so that women could seek out surgical abortions in a more relaxed legislative environment.
However, this regression in freedom of reproductive choice is not uniform across the West. According to The Centre for Reproductive Rights (CRR), more than 80% of European countries permit abortion on request of the clinician and the mother. Last month, France moved to define the choice for abortion as a constitutional right, embedding it into their constitution to ensure that all women of the region have complete autonomy in their decisions regarding their bodies and pregnancies.
India’s MTP Amendment, though culturally avant-garde in its ideology of propagating safe abortions and aim to make it accessible and affordable for all married and unmarried women alike, falls short in its practical application upon the traditional philosophies of the mundane Indian society.
S.F., 25, became pregnant for the first time in December of 2021, but she faced a big hitch – she was a bachelorette, and her then-boyfriend parted ways with her upon hearing the news. Hailing from rural Maharashtra, S.F. says that the perspectives about pregnancy out of wedlock in her hometown were negative and extreme, often leading to public shaming, harassment, forced marriages, or even honour killing.
“I couldn’t tell my parents obviously because they would kill me, or worse, disown me,” recounts S.F., “And I was not going to give birth to the child just for it to grow up without a father, with no stable roof over its head or food in its stomach, and with a shameful mother like me.”
This perception of undesirable pregnancies still prevails in the Indian society, and this forces women to seek out abortions illegally through life-threatening methods, much like S.F. herself sought out. In a disturbing account of her alleyway abortion in a rundown clinic with a leaking roof, S.F. speaks of a disbarred doctor that persuaded her to undergo surgery by him in exchange for cash, which he desperately needed, and silence, which she desperately needed.
She says she knew about the amendment and that its clauses stressed that the identity of the women undergoing termination procedures shall not be revealed under any events. However, she says she did not trust the Indian courts to protect her privacy or approve her abortion. In her unlawful and hazardous approach to a termination of her pregnancy, while S.F. may have avoided what she thought would have been exposure of her circumstances, her testimony also critically highlighted that the cognizance of MTP Amendment is low and of the clauses comprised within it even lesser.
“So what that the law protects my right to my body and my unborn child?” questions a disturbed S.F., “I still have to step out in society, face people, listen to their taunts. The law doesn’t protect me from their narrow-minded views, so why should I care about the law?”
Since the amendment of the statute, numbers of legal abortions have risen but not notably. In a report by the Foundation for Reproductive Health Services India (FRHS), it is apparent that, even now, close to 96% of Indian mothers are unaware about the amendment and what it entails, a data that is overwhelmingly made up of women from humbler backgrounds and states with lower literacy rates which, ironically, record the highest number of unwanted perilous pregnancies due to lacking facilities or domineering family members and cultural value systems.
To combat this lack of awareness in the majority of the masses, the Indian Government has become a member of the United Nation’s Family Planning 2030 Partnership which fosters a goal to improve reproductive health for women globally by 2030 via specific strategies developed by partner governments that are most effective based on the characteristics of their region and its residents.
In India’s approach to FP2030, digital awareness campaigns through the means of movies and advertisements, distribution of free-of-cost contraceptives in healthcare facilities, and training educators and organizations to spread awareness about the hazards of unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions and the necessity of supervised legitimate procedures. Family Planning Association of India is a social organization that collaborates with NGOs and the Government to further the importance of abortion literacy.
Mrunal Dhar, an associate at FPA India, speaks to us about the methods and campaigns carried out by the organization.
“We hold monthly free health checkups for women all over the country where they can come in at their discretion and receive consultations from veteran doctors,” says Dhar, “We do this because one reason people shy away from abortion and contraceptives is the price tag attached to it – they feel it is a waste of time, money, and energy.”
Dhar also reveals that FPA India also holds educational programmes in many states regularly to educate the citizens regarding abortion and conscientious family planning, establishes funds to invest in high quality reproductive healthcare amenities, and runs counselling sessions for men and women, organizing approximately 20 projects towards the betterment of reproductive health.
So far, India’s initiatives have succeeded in bringing the gross fertility rate of the country down to 2.1 from a whopping 6.2 in the last 30 years. While nationwide awareness about safe termination of pregnancy and healthy reproductive practices is still left wanting, India has shown tough resolve towards their goal. With each year, India leads by example for the reproductive rights of women, joining the now global trend of providing the freedom of choice to mothers and womenfolk.