The act that denies women choice
A pregnant 15-yr-old’s ordeal again underscored the conceptual flaw in our abortion law. MTP law, despite amendments, makes terminating pregnancy an arbitrary process. Everyone has a say, except the woman
In 2021, after five decades of silence, India amended the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act. The revision extended abortion access to 24 weeks for women under certain conditions, and beyond that, for foetal anomalies.
The amended law appeared to respond to decades of clinical realities and judicial nudging.
Yet, a closer look reveals the amendment is less a structural reform, and more a calibrated patchwork retaining deficiencies that continue to restrict access, generate legal uncertainty and undermine constitutional principles.
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Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
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