AYUSH docs, paramedics may not be allowed to perform abortions

Despite an endorsement from the World Health Organization, the Union government is not likely to go ahead with a key provision in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2014. The proposed amendment expands the definition of legal abortion providers—to include nurses, auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) and doctors practising Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani and Siddha—to perform non-surgical abortions in case of pregnancies up to nine weeks.

“This was the most important amendment to the MTP Act and would have helped poor women access safe abortion services. There’s a huge shortage of doctors in the country, and this change would have helped plug that gap,” said Vinoj Manning, director, Ipas Development Foundation, an NGO that works for safe abortions.