Increasing the legal limits of gestation period as prescribed in the mtp Act, 1971 in Light of the recent supreme court judgements

A 22-year-old woman was allowed to abort her foetus in its 24th week of gestation period after the Supreme Court observed that it suffered from anencephaly, a condition incompatible with life and in which the foetus is said to be suffering from a defect of skull and brain tissue development. In July 2016 also, the Supreme Court allowed a woman to undergo abortion in her 24th week of pregnancy at one hospital in Mumbai, granting her the benefit under Section 5 of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, that allows abortion despite the 20-week ceiling. However, in one case, on 24 weeks routine check up the doctor discovered that the fetus had a severe abnormality. They approached the Bombay High Court which denied abortion Under the MTP Act. Another petitioner, Mrs Y in her 19th week of pregnancy, was told by the doctors that her fetus may have had a congenital malformation characterized by partial absence of brain tissue. Under the limits imposed by the MTP Act, Mrs. Y was forced to make the excruciating decision to terminate her pregnancy.

It is clear that in some cases MTP was allowed, while in the others, it was not. All the judgements were on a case to case basis, as the legal period of gestation prescribed by the Act is only 20 weeks, except in dire emergencies. The time has come to amend the 45 years old Act in the light of new advancements in science and in light of new judgements by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. This would go a long way in helping the affected ladies, who are forced to rush to the courts for redressal, if their pregnancy crosses the arbitrarily drawn limit of 20 weeks.