Rights: The Rajya Sabha has passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which increases the time period within which an abortion may be carried out. The Bill was passed in March last year in the Lok Sabha.
Prior to the Bill, an abortion required the opinion of one doctor if conducted within 12 weeks of conception, and two doctors if undertaken between 12 and 20 weeks. Now, the Bill allows an abortion to be done on the advice of one doctor if the pregnancy is less than 20 weeks, and two doctors if it is between 20 and 24 weeks.
However, opposition members in parliament have pointed out that the Bill still does not give women the complete freedom to decide, since they will need a nod from the state-level medical board in the case of pregnancies beyond 24 weeks.
According to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, the amendments in the Bill had been made after studying global practices and consulting experts within the country. These amendments were also explored due to the rising number of pleas in court. There are 23 petitions in front of the Supreme Court and hundreds more in the various high courts. The original Bill was framed in 1971.
According to Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, the Bill isn’t based on a right-based approach. “To make such a woman run to the medical board is demeaning to her, [and an] invasion of privacy and choice. It creates more bureaucratic hurdles. You are not allowing the woman to make the choice. Why does she need to take the permission of a medical board?” she asked.
Opposition members also pointed out that the Bill doesn’t factor in the realities of rural India. “The shortage of specialist doctors is a reality, particularly in rural areas. Getting an opinion from two doctors for medical termination of pregnancy for the gestation period of 20-24 weeks is just not practically possible,” said Nationalist Congress Party’s Fauzia Khan.
The opposition’s demand to send the Bill to a parliamentary select committee for detailed scrutiny was defeated by a voice vote.
Read this article which explains the need to put women at the centre of India’s population control approach.