India News | RS-ABORTION-BILL Parliament Passes Bill to Raise Upper Limit for Abortions to 24 Weeks in Special Cases
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to raise the upper limit for permitting abortions from the present 20 weeks to 24 weeks for "special categories of women" including rape survivors, victims of incest, minors and the differently-abled.
New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to raise the upper limit for permitting abortions from the present 20 weeks to 24 weeks for "special categories of women" including rape survivors, victims of incest, minors and the differently-abled.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 was passed by voice vote. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha about a year ago.
A demand to send the bill to a select committee of Rajya Sabha was defeated by voice vote, along with some other amendments proposed by members.
"The bill as amended is passed," Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh said.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the amendments in the bill have been made after studying global practices and wide consultation within the country.
"Under the leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we will not frame any law which harms women. This is to preserve and protect dignity of women," he said.
The minister said the suggestions and objections made to the bill by some members were symbolic in nature and aligned with their party ideology.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)