New guidelines allowing abortion till 24 weeks 'only in rare cases' may soon be issued

New Delhi: After a suggestion from the PM's office, the Centre has made changes to the previously proposed amendments to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had earlier proposed that the maximum time for abortions be raised from the existing 20 weeks to 24 weeks.

However, after receiving the proposal, the PMO asked the ministry to address the issue of sex selective abortions.

The suggestion was made after an abortion racket at the clinic of a homeopathic doctor in Maharashtra's Sangli, where more than a dozen fetuses were found.

As per a report in DNA, the ministry has now sent a revised proposal to the Cabinet, suggesting that the increased time limit should be applied only in rare cases.

"Only in special cases, which involve rape or violence, or in cases where a medical practitioner diagnoses a threat to the life of the mother, will the increased time limit be applied," said an official in the ministry. The official said that the ministry has now sent the revised draft to the PMO, with a plea to streamline abortions.

"A set of guidelines will be issued once we get a nod," said the official, DNA reported.

Section 5 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act permits a termination after the mandated 20 weeks only if it is "immediately necessary" to save the life of the mother.

Earlier last week, the Supreme Court rejected a plea to allow a 10-year-old rape survivor to abort a 32-week-old pregnancy, after a medical report stated that the abortion was harmful for both the mother and the child. It directed the government to set up panels to evaluate such requests so that crucial time was not lost while approaching courts.