. No. Topic Name Prelims/Mains 1.      Details of the Abortion Laws Prelims & Mains 2.      Details of Naxalism Prelims & Mains 3.      About the India’s First Space Mission Prelims & Mains 4.      Details of the the LoC Prelims Specific Topic 1 – Details of the Abortion Laws:GS II Topic à Government Policies and Interventions  ·      India has had abortion restrictions since: ·       As the frequency of induced abortions rose in the 1960s, the Union government established the Shantilal Shah Committee to investigate the viability of making abortion legal in the country. ·       The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act was enacted in 1971 to decrease maternal mortality brought on by unsafe abortions. ·       The circumstances under which a medical abortion may be performed are laid out in this law. Sections 312 and 313 of the Indian Penal Code do not apply to it (IPC). ·       Unless they behaved in good faith in an effort to preserve the pregnant woman’s life, anybody who “voluntarily induces a woman with child to miscarry” faces a maximum three-year prison sentence, a fine, or both. ·       This clause essentially outlaws all abortion in India. ·       Regardless of how far along in her pregnancy the woman is, anyone who induces a miscarriage without the pregnant woman’s agreement is subject to punishment under Section 313 of the IPC, which carries fines, life in prison, or a maximum 10-year sentence. ·       Evolution of MTP from 1971 to 2021: ·       The MTP Act underwent its most recent amendment in 2021. ·       In the years before that, new regulations were implemented in 2003 to permit the use of misoprostol, a freshly discovered abortion drug, to end a pregnancy up to seven weeks into it. ·       The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act of 2021 lays forth the conditions in which an abortion on a physician’s advice is legal. ·       By virtue of the 2021 Act, the maximum gestational period at which a woman may undergo a medical abortion was raised from 20 weeks to 24 weeks. ·       This updated upper limit is only applicable in certain circumstances. ·       Up to 20 weeks of gestation, MTP may now be prescribed based on the recommendation of a single licenced medical provider. ·       Two licenced medical specialists’ opinions are needed between 20 and 24 weeks. ·       A medical abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy required the approval of one registered doctor under the previous version of the Act, while abortions up to 20 weeks required the consent of two doctors. ·       Furthermore, a pregnancy may only be terminated after 24 weeks of gestation on the grounds of foetal abnormalities by a four-member Medical Board established in each State in line with the Act. ·       Despite any of the aforementioned restrictions, the legislation also provides that an abortion may be performed whenever necessary by a single licenced medical professional in order to preserve the pregnant woman’s life. ·       Due to the 2021 Act’s lack of a spousal consent requirement, unmarried women may also have an abortion given the aforementioned conditions. If the lady is a minor, parental permission is necessary. ·       Court interventions in abortion-related cases: ·       The decision to continue or end a pregnancy is a part of a pregnant person’s right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution, as well as their right to life and personal liberty, the Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Right to Privacy decision in the 2017 case Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India and others. A 37-year-old woman’s request for a medical abortion at 34 weeks of pregnancy was granted by the Calcutta High Court despite the fact that the country’s current laws do not permit unconditional abortions. Given that the fetus’s spine deformity was confirmed to be incurable, this was done. ·       After the State Medical Board denied the woman’s application for MTP, the Court granted this. ·       Due to this decision, abortions were permitted in the nation up to the point of delivery. ·       The anti-abortion statute has the following justifications: ·       According to a 2018 study published in the Lancet, as of 2015, India had 15.6 million abortions annually. ·       The mother performed 27% of abortions, per the most recent National Family Health Survey 2019–2021, at home. ·       According to the State of the World Population Report 2022 by the United Nations Population Fund, unsafe abortions cause over 8 women to perish every day in India (UNFPA). ·       According to the MTP Act, only gynaecologists or obstetricians are permitted to perform abortions. ·       However, the 2019–20 Rural Health Statistics report from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shows that there is a 70% lack of obstetrician–gynecologists in rural India. ·       Critics claim that because the law outlaws abortions at any time, it forces women to have dangerous, unauthorised abortions. ·       According to statistics, India performs 80,000 unsafe and illegal abortions per year, many of which result in maternal death. ·       Because the term “woman” is employed in the law, pregnant transgender and non-binary people who are medically capable of having children are excluded. ·       They are pressured to embrace a gender-binary identity in place of their original gender identification. ·       Affordability and societal stigma that encourage unsafe abortions are other important factors. ·       Only those with sufficient financial means have access to the pricy private medical facilities that perform abortions. ·       Conclusion: ·       India’s scenario is far from ideal, thus it’s critical to consider and implement cutting-edge global practises. ·       Diversity, complete bodily autonomy, and reproductive fairness should be our goals. ·       We shouldn’t start managing the nation by gauging our progress against the rate of retreat. ·       Legal, medical, and social considerations must be made while evaluating bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. ·       It is impossible to say that India is paving the way for the West until women and non-binary pregnant people have full control over their own bodies in accordance with these values. Source à The Indian Express 2