Medical boards for access to abortion untenable: Report

What is the News?
The Centre for Justice, Law and Society(CJLS), Jindal Global Law School has undertaken a study to analyse the feasibility of setting up Medical Boards. Boards are proposed in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy(MTP) (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

 Background:

• MTP Amendment Bill,2020: The Bill seeks to amend Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971. It was passed in the Lok Sabha in 2020 and is likely to be brought before the Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session.
• Medical Board: The Bill proposes the constitution of a Medical Board in every State and Union Territory. These boards will decide on abortions in cases of foetal abnormalities where pregnancies are over 24 weeks. Each Board will have a gynaecologist, a radiologist or sonologist, a paediatrician, and other members prescribed by the governments.

 Key Findings of the study:

• It found that the constitution of a Medical Board to decide on the termination of pregnancy is unfeasible. 82% of these posts are lying vacant in the country,
• Between 2015 and 2019, the shortfall in specialists posts was between 71% and 81.8%.
• The shortfall was more in the North-East states of Sikkim, Mizoram and Manipur. Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya had a 100% shortage of paediatricians.

Additional Facts:

Other key Features of MTP Amendment Bill, 2020:

• Abortion: The Bill allows abortion to be done on the advice of one doctor up to 20 weeks, and two doctors in the case of certain categories of pregnancies between 20 and 24 weeks.
• Special Categories: It has enhanced the gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for ‘special categories’ of women. It includes survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women like differently-abled women and minors.
• Protection of Identity: It also states that the name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed.

Source: The Hindu