On 17^th March 2020, this bill amended the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. This bill which is being lauded as ‘liberal’ and ‘progressive’ by the government, brings in several reforms to the MTP Act,1971. It regulates conditions under which pregnancy may be terminated and extends the time period within which abortion can be done. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 was the main legislation that regulated the concept of abortion. Under the previous Act, abortion could only be carried on in four circumstances, if there is a considerable risk the child would face if it were born if pregnancy is alleged to have been caused by rape, if the pregnancy involves great risk to the life of the pregnant woman and if the pregnancy was caused due to failure of contraceptives used by a married woman or her husband.  

Section 3(2) of the MTP Act, 1971 allows for a pregnancy to be aborted within twenty weeks. It also requires the opinion of two medical practitioners, that continuing the pregnancy would cause considerable harm to the life of the woman or child. This now stands amended, wherein a pregnancy may be terminated within 20 weeks with the opinion of one medical practitioner and within 24 weeks with the opinion of two medical practitioners. This amendment was made keeping in mind the several criticisms faced by the previous limit of 20 weeks, the main criticism being detecting fetal abnormalities which can only be recognized after this time period.

The termination of pregnancy beyond 24 weeks was not provided for under the previous Act, now abortion beyond 24 weeks can be done with the opinion from a State Level Medical Board which is set up under the amended Act. This board shall consist of a gynecologist, pediatrician, radiologist, and any such other members notified by the state government.

Another highlight of the Act is that the words ‘woman and her partner’ have replaced the words ‘married woman and her husband.’This Bill also gives due attention to the privacy of those concerned, medical practitioners are only allowed to disclose information to the people who are authorized under law. Anyone practitioner violating this will be punishable with imprisonment up to a year, or fine, or both.

 One of the main contentions made worldwide concerning abortion is that it is the right and choice of the woman. The opposite contention is that it is the duty of the state to protect all life, and therefore protection should be awarded to a fetus through stringent abortion laws. Although certain improvements were made to this legislation through this amendment it still does not align with the fact that reproductive autonomy is solely a woman’s right and decision, it also fails to provide clarity concerning transgender women. While this bill is a step in the right direction leading to a more progressive world, there is still a lot of room for improvement.