A United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)’s State of the World Population Report 2022 stated that about 67% of abortions in India are unsafe.

The study also reveals that eight women die each day due to unsafe abortions, which were the third most common cause of maternal mortality in the South Asian nation.

Titled “Seeing the Unseen: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy,” the report said that one in every seven unintended pregnancies in the world occurs in India.

According to the report, 121 million unintended pregnancies occur every year globally, an average of 331,000 a day. One in seven unintended pregnancies in the world take place in India. The unintended pregnancies, and subsequent abortions, are intimately linked with the overall development of the country. As education and income levels increase, it results in a lowering of unintended pregnancies, says the report.

An abortion is considered safe if it is done using a method recommended by the WHO. The UNFPA report noted that the amendment to the MTP Act in 2021 appeared encouraging, but added that a lot more needed to be done to prevent unsafe abortions and maternal mortality.

Major causes of unsafe abortion:

• Lack of privacy with doctors.
• Girls are still the unwanted daughters in many parts of India.
• Unwanted pregnancies.
• Lack of sexual education in school.
• Restrictive abortion laws.

Lack of Privacy with service providers:

Abortion is legal in India and a woman does not require the approval of her husband, partner or family if she is an adult of “sound mind” and wishes to get an abortion. Healthcare providers often ask women to get the permission of their husband, or family members, even though it is not required by law. Often, the privacy and confidentiality of the woman is not protected.

Geographical access:

Another issue which many women face is that of geographical access. About 66% of India’s population lives in rural parts of the country, where there is a severe shortage of obstetrician-gynecologists, according to the Indian health ministry’s 2019-20 Rural Health Statistics Report. As a result, many abortions are often performed by midwives, auxiliary nurses, or birth attendants and are, therefore, considered unsafe.

The 2015-16 National Family Health Survey (NFHS) showed that only 20% of abortions took place in public healthcare facilities. Private clinics and hospitals, which are concentrated in urban India, were responsible for 52% of abortions. Most of them comes to the private health centers after purchasing illegal at-home abortion kits or getting surgical abortions from fraudulent doctors. “There are many complications and risks with such patients.

Lack of sexual education:

It leads to unwanted pregnancy and because of the stiff abortion laws of the country, people like to approach the unsafe institutions and that often leads to maternal death.

If comprehensive sexuality education is not offered in her school, she may lack accurate information. Pregnancy may be her default option because she has few opportunities and choices in her life. Without a chance to finish her education, for instance, she may not see a reason to postpone childbearing.

restrictive abortion laws:

According to Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code, “causing a miscarriage” is considered to be an offense, so the MTP act was then introduced to protect doctors who provide abortions. “The MTP bill only protects the doctor from criminalization of abortion services”.

“The act, which comes from a legal standpoint, needs to be more women-centric. It needs to recognize abortion as a genuine reproductive need, and not punish women”.

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