Union Cabinet Approves Extending Abortion Upper Limit To 24 Weeks

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which proposed extending the upper limit for permitting abortions from the present 20 weeks to 24 weeks.

The Bill will be introduced in the ensuing session of Parliament.

Briefing the media, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the move will ensure safe termination of pregnancies and give women reproductive rights over their bodies.

The Union Minister further said that the extension will also help victims of rape, girls with disabilities as well as minors, who may not realise they are pregnant until later.

“This is important because there are cases where the girl concerned doesn’t realise that she is pregnant in first 5 months and has to go to court. This was discussed with various stakeholders,” he said.

This will also reduce maternal mortality, he added.