Legal status

The Indian abortion laws falls under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, which was enacted by the Indian Parliament in the year 1971 with the intention of reducing the incidence of illegal abortion and consequent maternal mortality and morbidity.[5] The MTP Act came into effect from 1 April 1972 and was amended in the years 1975 and 2002.

Pregnancies not exceeding 12 weeks may be terminated based on a single opinion formed in good faith. In case of pregnancies exceeding 12 weeks but less than 20 weeks, termination needs opinion of two doctors. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of India clearly states the conditions under which a pregnancy can be ended or aborted, the persons who are qualified to conduct the abortion and the place of implementation.[ Some of these qualifications are as follows:

• Women whose physical and/or mental health were endangered by the pregnancy
• Women facing the birth of a potentially handicapped or malformed child
• Rape
• Pregnancies in unmarried girls under the age of eighteen with the consent of a guardian
• Pregnancies in “lunatics” with the consent of a guardian
• Pregnancies that are a result of failure in sterilisation

Sex-selective abortion

Pre-natal diagnostic techniques like Medical Ultrasonography are capable of determining the sex of the fetus. In many parts of India, daughters are not preferred and hence sex-selective abortion is commonly practised, a form of Gendercide, resulting in an unnatural male to female population sex ratio due to millions of developing girls being terminated before birth.[citation needed] According to The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Act, 2002 the following are cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offences.

• Conducting or associating or helping to conduct Pre-Natal Diagnostic tests for determining the sex of the foetus.
• Sex selection on a woman or a man or both on any tissue, embryo, conceptus fluid or gametes derived from either or both of them
• Advertisement or communication in any form in print, by electronic media or internet by units, medical professionals or companies on the availability of sex determination and sex selection in the form of services, medicines, or any kind of techniques.
• Providers are punishable by three years imprisonment and a Rs. 10,000 fine (five years imprisonment and a Rs. 50,000 fine for subsequent offence); those who seek aid are punishable with a term that may extend to three years and a fine that may extend to Rs 50,000 for the first offence and for any subsequent offence with imprisonment which may extend to five years and with fine which may increase to Rs. 100,000.

Implementation

Unsafe abortions continue to outnumber safe and legal abortions. The Central government constituted an expert committee in the year 2010 to make recommendations.