Over 30,000 abortions carried out in MP in one year
18 Jun, 2013The reply to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that over 30,000 abortions were carried out in Madhya Pradesh in just one year. The reply from the directorate of health states that a total of 34,091 abortions were carried out in the state in past one year as per the provisions of the Medical termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971.
The reply stated that maximum abortions were carried out in Bhopal (11,296), followed by Gwalior (3,599), Indore (1,850) and Jabalpur (1,409).
The in-charge of the implementation of the MTP Act in the state told that though the act allows termination of pregnancy for six reasons, around ninety per cent of abortion cases mention failure of contraceptives as the reason for undergoing MTP. However, sources indicated that though some of the cases of contraceptive failure are genuine, many people falsely cite this reason when they opt for female foeticide after gender determination.
Skeptics have pointed that the number reported is only the recorded number of abortions though there is a sizable number of unrecorded abortions too.