MTP or Abortion

Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP)/ Abortion is a procedure that enables a woman to opt out of an unwanted pregnancy. Medical procedure for ending a pregnancy at any time before the foetus has attained the stage of viability is called Medical Termination of Pregnancy /abortion. It is not a family planning method but it is a reliable method of terminating unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. An MTP/abortion can be induced or spontaneous. A spontaneous abortion occurs when a pregnancy terminates without any medical or surgical intervention, as in the case of a miscarriage. Induced abortions involve surgical or medical procedures for termination of the pregnancy.

Abortion is a very contentious issue across the world. 24 countries in the world do not allow abortion at all. Recently the US Supreme Court has also restricted the right of abortion significantly in United States. In India abortion was made legal in the year 1971. Recent amendments to this act has made abortion upto 24 weeks legal.

Legal Position

Under MTP (Medical Termination of Pregnancy) Act of 1971 India any woman married or unmarried can terminate an unwanted pregnancy through abortion. Reasons for ending pregnancies can be numerous. Some well-known reasons are:

The continuance of pregnancy involves a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or grave injury to her physical or mental health.

There is substantial risk that if the child is born it would suffer from physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously challenged.

Pregnancy occuring as a result of failure of any contraceptive device or method used by woman.

Pregnancy occuring due to rape.

If the pregnant woman is suffering from any kind of mental disorder or mental illness.

Authorized MTP Centres

Any Hospital or Medical Facility which is registered under the MTP Act with the Government of the State can carry out MTP or Abortion as per the laid down provisions. Pregnancy upto 20 weeks can be terminated by any qualified gynaecologist who is registered under the MTP Act and the Centre is also registered. Consent of the mother is the only thing which is required. CLAGS Centre in Mohali is an authorized centre for Abortion in Punjab.

MTP act was amended in the year 2021. Now pregnancy upto 20 weeks can be terminated by one gynecologist and pregnancy upto 24 weeks can be terminated after taking opinion of two gynecologists. Pregnancy beyond 24 weeks can be terminated after getting approval from a Medical Board constituted by the State Government for reasons of congenital foetal anomalies.

The cost of MTP or Abortion at CLAGS Centre, Mohali in Punjab would be Rs. 3-5 thousand if done through medicines. Abortion through medicines is possible only in case of early pregnancy of 5-8 weeks. When abortion is done through medicines then there are chances that some products of conception remain inside which can be seen through an ultrasound examination. For cases where the pregnancy is beyond 8 weeks, a procedure called Dialation & Evacuation (D&E) is done where the foetus is removed from the uterus through suction. The cost for surgical abortion at CLAGS Centre in Mohali ranges from Rs. 18000 to Rs. 30000.