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 […]
abortion
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 […]
India’s abortion law: Timeframe will not be extended, Government says
Changing India’s abortion law to extend the timeframe within which a woman can have an abortion is not a step the Centre is willing to take, the Supreme Court has been informed. A blanket extension for the twenty-week window in which an abortion may be performed cannot be justified because of the right to life […]
Abortion law reform in progress: Centre to HC
The Centre has informed the Madras High Court that a note has again been sent to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, proposing a change to India’s abortion law. Last week, it was reported that the Centre was exploring extending the period during a woman’s pregnancy that they could undergo an abortion to between […]
A change in the abortion law?
Could India’s abortion law soon change? Steps may be taken towards amending the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, as the Centre has informed the Delhi High Court it is consulting with ministries on the same. Social activist Amit Sahni filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the High Court earlier this year, seeking that […]