Rajya Sabha passes bill to raise abortion upper limit to 24 weeks in special cases

New Delhi [India], March 16 : Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the 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".
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed in the Upper House by a voice vote after it was moved by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan for consideration and passing. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha last year.
A demand to send the bill to a select committee of the Upper House was defeated by voice vote.
"The amendments in the bill have been made after studying global practices and wide consultation within the country. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will not frame any law which harms women. This is to preserve and protect the dignity of women," Harsh Vardhan had said last year in the Parliament.
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.