Lok Sabha passes Bill to raise abortion upper limit to 24 weeks for vulnerable women

New Delhi: A Bill that provides for raising the upper limit for legal termination of pregnancy from 20 to 24 weeks and expands the access of women to safe and legal abortion services on "therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian and social grounds" was passed by Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, was passed by a voice vote after a reply by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. The minister said the Bill has been brought after extensive consultations.

The Bill seeks to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. It provides for enhancing the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women, which will be defined in the amendments to the MTP rules and includes survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women like differently-abled women and minors.