Medical Termination Of Pregnancy Rules:
The Government has notified new rules under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021.
- The 2021 Act was passed to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971.
About the Rules:
- Increased Gestational Limit: The gestational limit for termination of a pregnancy has been increased from 20 to 24 weeks for certain categories of women.
The seven specific categories are:
- Survivors of sexual assault or rape or incest.
- Minors.
- Change of marital status during the ongoing pregnancy (widowhood and divorce).
- Women with physical disabilities.
- Mentally ill women.
- Foetal malformation that has a substantial risk of being incompatible with life or if the child is born, he/ she may suffer from serious physical or mental abnormalities.
- Women with pregnancy in humanitarian settings or disaster or emergency situations.
State-level Medical Board: A state-level medical board will be set up to decide if a pregnancy may be terminated after 24 weeks in cases of foetal malformation.
- The medical boards are to either accept or reject the proposal for medical termination of pregnancy within three days of receiving the request.
- The abortion procedure has to be done with five days of the board receiving the request for the same.
