Indian Government To Review Proposal To Extend Cutoff Time For Abortions

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 12 Sep 2008 - 10:00 PST

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The Indian government is considering a proposal to extend the cutoff time for when a woman legally can undergo an abortion in the country from 20 weeks' gestation to 24 weeks' gestation, the Times of India reports. According to the Times, a high-level committee will look into whether the 1971 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act needs to be revised.

Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said a recent case involving an Indian couple seeking to abort a fetus that had a congenital heart problem but was past the gestational limit has forced the government to reconsider the law (Sinha, Times of India, 9/10). Niketa Mehta, her husband, Haresh, and her gynecologist, Nikhil Dattar, petitioned the Bombay High Court to allow her to have an abortion. Niketa Mehta's attorney Amit Karkhanis argued that the couple could not afford to pay for the frequent change of pacemaker that the fetus' condition would require. Karkhanis also said the couple did not find out about the condition until the 24th week of pregnancy. However, the court last month rejected the petition, citing the country's abortion law (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 8/6). Niketa Mehta later had a miscarriage.

NK Ganguly, former director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, said that the current law has "become old" and that "a lot of new scientific and technological developments have taken place since 1971. The act needs to be concurrent with the present day ethics and social structure." Duru Shah, former president of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare should introduce a clause that says a pregnant woman can have an abortion if her fetus likely would be born with physical or mental disabilities. Shah said, "Rather than focusing on the week of gestation, the health ministry should look at the health of the child, for the basis of termination. Sometimes, a disability can't be picked up even before 24 weeks."

The Times reports that the review committee will submit its final report in the next four months and that amendments will be made to the law if deemed necessary (Times of India, 9/10).

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