Amidst concerns over allowing Ayush and other non-allopathic doctors to conduct abortion, the Government may not present the proposed amendment bill that extends the gestation period in the monsoon session of the Parliament.
The bill has already been tangled in a debate on patient safety versus broader access to healthcare for women, with the addition of ayurvedacharyas, homeopaths and nurses to conduct MTP legally. Adding to this is a fresh dispute, with a recent study by an international journal that cites ‘contradictory’ amendments to the existing law that pose risk to women’s health.
According to authorities involved in drafting the new law, the proposed amendments will extend the gestation period from 20 weeks to 24 weeks for women who fall under ‘special categories’. Although the categories have not yet been defined, they are likely to include single women with unwanted pregnancy, disabled and other vulnerable women.
The amendment will also allow abortion anytime during the pregnancy, shall a “selective” fetal abnormality be detected, which cannot be perceived during the 20-week gestation period. The existing law allows medical abortion till 20 weeks or pregnancy.
Dr Nikhil Datar, a gynaecologist and health rights activist from Mumbai said, “The proposed amendment is a welcome move as the new Act’s section 4, 2 (b)(ii) talks about MTP after twenty weeks and not exceeding 24 weeks of pregnancy in case the pregnancy is risking the woman’s life physically or mentally, or poses a substantial risk to the unborn child.”
But he is of the opinion that the bill is in need of “urgent redrafting” to prevent women from making ill informed decisions and risking their lives with illegal terminations.
He said among the proposed changes were that for terminations between 20 and 24 weeks’ gestation, a woman must fall into one of the “categories” defined by the government. Yet, the draft legislation did not define the “categories” and did not provide a clear solution to a woman who has a substantial foetal abnormality but who is not included in any “category”. Datar also raised objection to inclusion of Ayush doctors for abortion, saying it could lead to unsafe abortions.
“A law is an Act of Parliament. Once the amendment bill is passed in Parliament, the ministry will frame rules to define each and every category. Clarity will come with rules,” an official involved in the drafting said. He added that in the case of allowing Ayush doctors to conduct abortion, rules and guidelines will ensure such doctors or paramedical staff receive “required training”.
7 million abortions are conducted in India annually, of which 50% is illegal. Rate of maternal deaths due to unsafe abortion complications is 8%.
