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Abortion post 20 weeks not only woman's call: Centre to Supreme Court

Centre tells SC law must safeguard against female foeticide

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Amid the raging debate over whether the State should control the choice of a pregnant woman to abort a foetus beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy, the Centre has said that the decision cannot "absolutely" rest with the woman alone.

The Centre told the Supreme Court on Saturday, via an affidavit, that instances of unsafe abortion and female infanticide are a matter of concern and any decision to increase the 20-week period has to be taken while balancing the interest of the health of both woman and foetus.

The Centre is in the process of amending the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 1971, and the final draft of the 2019 MTP Amendment bill is pending with the Ministry of Law and Justice for vetting.

The Centre was responding to two separate petitions filed by Dr Nikhil D Datter and two women, who are seeking to move the legal limit for abortion beyond 20 weeks. Datter had earlier approached the Bombay High Court, and his argument is that many foetal abnormalities are detected only at an advanced stage of pregnancy and the woman is forced to carry out the pregnancy to full terms.

Section 3(2)(b) of the MTP Act recognizes the grave risk to mother or foetus' life or anything causing grave physical or mental injury to the woman as a ground for a medical practitioner to abort foetus within 20 weeks.

As per Section 5(1), the medical practitioner can only perform an abortion if it is necessary to save the woman. While accepting that the aspect of foetal abnormalities has been considered in the 2019 draft bill, the Centre voiced reservations over raising the limit in general.

"While proposing any amendments," the affidavit filed last week by Ajay Kumar, under-secretary Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said, "The consequences are to be examined carefully. It is necessary to institute safeguards against any misuse of the law for performing late-term sex-selective abortions."

On the petitioners's claim that a pregnant woman must enjoy full control over her body and not be restricted by a State-enacted law, the Centre said, "A pregnant woman's right to abort her pregnancy is not an absolute right.

"It must be balanced against the compelling state interest of protecting the woman's health and the life of the foetus/unborn child".

According to Government estimates, unsafe abortions contribute to 8 per cent of maternal mortality in India which was last recorded as 130 per 1,00,000 live births. About infant mortality figures, the affidavit states "there has been an alarming fall in the sex ratio at birth". What were 900 females per 1,000 males in 2013-15 has come down to 896 in 2014-16.

Even without legal amendments, Supreme Court's intervention from time to time has led the Centre to set up permanent medical boards in premier medical institutes that take up request for abortion beyond 20 weeks on a case-to-case basis.

Debating MTP 2019 bill

 The Centre was responding to petitions filed by Dr Nikhil D Datter and two others seeking to move the legal limit for abortion beyond 20 weeks
 Dr Datter argued that many foetal abnormalities are detected only at an advanced stage and the woman is forced to carry the pregnancy to term

 

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