The central government informed the Madras High Court bench here that the Health Ministry will again initiate the process for amending the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. The submission was made in a petition the court initiated on its own, asking the Centre as to when the MTP Act would be amended increasing the upper gestation limit for legal abortions from 20 to 24 weeks as per a proposed draft. The Centre's counsel said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) will again initiate the process for amending the 1971 act and a final draft Cabinet note has been forwarded to authorities following MoHFW's nod.
The Tamil Nadu Government submitted that the risk to the mother (during termination of a pregnancy that stretched beyond 20 weeks) increased in proportion to the gestational age. To a question raised by the court, it said there was no single medicine to prevent…
