Only 68% of women consider termination of pregnancy as a woman’s health right, according to a new study, which also found that 95.5% of women were unaware of the amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act which increases the gestational age from 20 to 24 weeks in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities.
The study was carried out by the Foundation for Reproductive Health Services, India (FRHS) in four States – Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The FRHS, an NGO providing clinical family planning services, found that every third woman interviewed for the study was either not sure or doesn’t consider abortion as one of their health rights.
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Only 40% were aware that Medical Termination of Pregnancy was legal in India while 24% of women thought MTP is “legal with certain conditions”.
In a surprise finding, only 4% of women knew MTP Act, 1971 was amended a year and a half back legalising abortion up to 24 weeks in case of substantial foetal abnormalities.
“The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act was modified 1.5 years ago, but abortion seekers are still unaware of the changes brought about in the Act. We found that even service providers [doctors] in Rajasthan were unclear about the shift in gestational age from 20 to 24 weeks,” Debanjana Choudhuri, Primary Researcher and Director-Programmes and Partnerships, FRHS India said.
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The study also found that the MTP Act, 1971 Amendment is unknown to 95% of frontline healthcare providers (FLWs) or ASHA workers who are the initial points of contact for women. This assumes importance as more than two-thirds of married women look for Frontline Health Workers (FLWs) like ASHA/AWW/ANM as the main source of information for pregnancies and abortions.
Amongst unmarried women, 50% mostly rely on social media platforms and approximately 33% rely on teachers as a key source of information.
Ashutosh Kaushik, Chief Executive Officer of FRHS India said though the MTP Act Amendment allows greater autonomy to women, the lack of awareness among abortion seekers and healthcare service providers is causing a hindrance in bringing the needed change. “For this to be successful, the government needs to deploy mass awareness activities in urban and rural areas”.
