The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved extending the upper limit for permitting abortions from the present 20 weeks to 24 weeks. The announcement about the same was made by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. He also said that this will ensure safe termination of pregnancies and also give women reproductive rights over their bodies.
"In a progressive reform and giving reproductive rights to women the limit of 20 weeks of medical termination of pregnancy has been increased to 24 weeks. This is important because in first 5 months there are cases where the girl concerned doesn't realize and has to go to court. This was discussed with various stakeholders. "This will reduce maternal mortality," he said. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Bill 2020 to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (1971) will be introduced in the next parliament session.