Lawmakers in the Lok Sabha have approved reform to Indian abortion law proposed by the Centre, which could expand access to abortion in the country. Parliamentarians in the lower house of the Indian Parliament approved by voice vote the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which seeks to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy […]
abortion
International Women’s Day: A reminder of India’s gender imbalance
Prime Minister Narendra Modi garnered publicity with a high-profile announcement that, in honour of International Women’s Day (observed today) this year, he “will give away [his] social media accounts to women whose life and work inspire us. This will help them ignite motivation in millions.” Giving visibility to women, their perspectives and their issues is […]
Abortion law reform on the cards?
The Union Cabinet has approved extending the timeframe in which a woman can avail an abortion to 24 weeks, in what has been described as a “progressive reform”, compared to the current upper limit of twenty weeks at present. This move marks a significant step towards abortion reform law. The approval of the Medical Termination […]
Abortions: 61 lakh in five years, but issues remain
India recorded 61 lakh abortions in the five years since the 2014-15 period, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Choubey informed lawmakers last week. Giving a written reply to a question posed in the Lok Sabha, Choubey said that the Government was taking steps to ensure access to safe abortions in the […]
Sex determination labs in the crosshairs of the Telangana High Court
![Sex ratio at birth. Sex determination ban in India to prevent imbalanced sex ratio. By Melanurya (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i2.wp.com/www.healthissuesindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Sex_determination_ban.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 "Sex determination ban in India and freedom of speech")
The Telangana High Court has wrote to state government officials about the proliferation of sex determination labs despite the practice of prenatal sex determination being illegal in India. The two-justice bench, consisting of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy, was responding to a public interest litigation filed before the High Court. […]
The challenge of getting family planning “right”: Professor Amy O. Tsui on sexual and reproductive health in India
With India facing a plethora of issues related to sexual and reproductive health, ranging from sex-selective abortion to rising rates of infertility, Health Issues India interviewed Professor Amy O. Tsui, PhD of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, to discuss India’s family planning, female sterilisation, infertility, female foeticide, and other issues in the […]
Suicide risk does not increase after an abortion: Research
The notion that undergoing an abortion increases a woman’s suicide risk is not supported by evidence, according to recent research. A study published in The Lancet examined data of 523,380 Danish women between the ages of eighteen and 36, finding that whilst women who undergo an abortion have a higher risk of first-time non-fatal suicide […]
Another day, yet another sex determination racket busted
Three people have been arrested in connection with an illegal prenatal sex determination racket, in a reminder of the country’s sex ratio and discrimination woes. India’s sex ratio is seriously imbalanced, driven in part by the practice of sex-selective abortion. Even though prenatal sex determination is illegal in India, having been banned in 1994 through […]
Sex discrimination and women in the workforce
Endemic sex discrimination takes its toll on the Indian economy, with the absence of women in the workforce, an imbalanced sex ratio, and social prejudices holding back a boon for India’s GDP. According to a report published recently in The Print, almost 120 million women who have at least a secondary education do not participate […]
Sex determination racket bust points to a national issue
In Haryana’s Panchkula district, a clinic has been raided by the state health department over allegations of a sex determination racket operating there. The Siddharth Clinic in Swastik Vihar, located in the Mansa Devi Complex, claimed to perform “infertility, gynae and ultrasound”, despite being unregistered with local authorities, and that equipment for procedures it was […]