The Medical Termination of Pregnancy
(MTP) Act recognizes the importance of providing safe, affordable, accessible
and acceptable abortion services to women who need to terminate an unwanted
pregnancy and legalizes abortion on therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian or
social grounds. It also aims to regulate and ensure access to safe abortion
care and also defines ‘when’, ‘where’ and ‘by whom’ abortion can be performed. Â
The Act, Rules, Regulations were amended
in 2002-03 to facilitate better implementation and increase access for women
especially in the private health sector. Some of the key amendments to the
Act/Rules are: Â <bR><br>
·
Power for approval and certification of
MTP Centres delegated  fromÂ
the State level to a District Level Committee headed by the District
CMO; Â
·
Specific punitive measures for MTPs
performed by unqualified persons not certified as RMPs under the Act, in places
not approved under the Act and the owner of such places;
·
Bifurcation of facility requirements for
1st Trimester (up to 12 weeks) and 2nd Trimester (12-20 weeks) MTPs; Â
·
Recognition of Medical Abortion as a
method for termination of pregnancy up to 49 days of amenorrhea.
Following
are some of the major steps taken by the Government for strict implementation
of the Act:
·Dissemination of Comprehensive Abortion
Care –Service Delivery and Training Guidelines to States.
· Provision of
comprehensive safe abortion services at public health facilities.
· Funds provided to
States/UTs for operationalisation of safe abortion
services at health facilities including procurement of equipments and drugs for
medical abortion.
· Capacity Building
of Medical officers in safe MTP Techniques and of other field functionaries to
provide confidential counselling for MTP and promote post-abortion care
including adoption of contraception.Â
· Certification and
regulation of private and NGO sector facilities through District level
committees to provide quality MTP services and ensure monitoring of records of
abortions performed in the public sector facilities
·
Regular monitoring of Comprehensive Abortion Centre (CAC) services
and implementation of the MTP Act by the States/UTs.
·
Counselling tips on CAC have been included in the RMNCH Counsellors
handbook and the ASHA training modules
·
IEC/BCC material related to print media has been disseminated to
the States/UTs
The Pre-Conception
and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994
prohibits sex selection tests, as it is found that sex selection tests are
conducted for female foeticide. With a view to strict compliance of the
provisions of the Act, regular inspections of the ultrasound clinics, genetic
clinics, imaging centres etc are being conducted by various District Appropriate
Authorities, State Inspection Monitoring Committees under various State and UT
Governments and also by National Inspection Monitoring Committee on behalf of
the Govt. of India. Investigations are also made on the basis of complaints
received from the public. Due to concerted efforts made in this
direction, a total number of 1095 cases are filed during last three years and current year for violations of PC & PNDT Act in
different Courts in the country.Â
State/UT-wise details thereof for each of the last three years and the current
year so far, are as follows:
State/UT-wise details of court cases
filed for violations of PC & PNDT Act, 1994 during each of the last three years and current year
S.
No.
|
States/ UTs
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
2012-13
|
2013-14*
|
1
|
Jammu
& Kashmir
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
4
|
1
|
2
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
Punjab
|
1
|
7
|
26
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
Chandigarh
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
5
|
Uttarakhand
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
6
|
Haryana
|
5
|
6
|
12
|
4
|
8
|
7
|
Delhi
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
8
|
Rajasthan
|
12
|
106
|
60
|
0
|
288
|
9
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
10
|
Bihar
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
11
|
Sikkim
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
12
|
Arunachal
Pradesh
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
13
|
Nagaland
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
14
|
Manipur
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
15
|
Mizoram
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
16
|
Tripura
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
17
|
Meghalaya
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
18
|
Assam
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
19
|
West Bengal
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
20
|
Jharkhand
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
18
|
1
|
21
|
Odisha
|
0
|
0
|
20
|
13
|
2
|
22
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
23
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
0
|
11
|
13
|
0
|
0
|
24
|
Gujarat
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
18
|
0
|
25
|
Daman & Diu
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
26
|
D & N Haveli
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
27
|
Maharashtra
|
9
|
20
|
137
|
210
|
0
|
28
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
26
|
29
|
Karnataka
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
30
|
Goa
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
11
|
9
|
31
|
Lakshadweep
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
32
|
Kerala
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
33
|
Tamil Nadu
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
34
|
Puducherry
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
35
|
A & N Islands
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Total
|
29
|
157
|
279
|
284
|
346
|
*Up to Sept. 2013
|
Government of India, in order to make
the law more stringent, has amended various provisions of PC&PNDT Rules,
1996 pertaining to sealing, seizure and confiscation of unregistered
ultra-sound machines and punishment against unregistered clinics, regulation of
use of portable ultrasound machine only within the registered premises besides
restricting medical practitioners to conduct ultrasonography
at maximum of two ultrasound clinics within a district. Recently, on 18.05.2013, the Union Health Minister requested all the
Chief Ministers of States and Lt. Governors/ Administrators of UTs, to ensure effective
implementation of the provisions of the
Act. The Union Health Secretary has also urged the Chief Secretaries and
Secretaries (Health & FW) of all States/ UTs, to establish mechanism for
monitoring and to take deterrent follow up action for effective implementation
of the PC & PNDT Act. In response to these initiatives, State/UT
Governments while reaffirming commitment towards strict enforcement of the
provisions of the Act, have taken a number of
initiatives in this direction.
Within the legal framework of MTP Act, documentation
of all termination of pregnancy has been prescribed.
This
was stated by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare in a
written reply to the Lok Sabha
today.
*********
MV/GM