Abortion laws and facts

>>Abortion laws vary across the world. It is learnt that around 60 countries prescribe gestational limits.

>>52 % including France, the UK, Austria, Ethiopia, Italy, Spain, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and even Nepal, allow for termination beyond 20 weeks on the diagnosis of foetal abnormalities

>>Some countries go beyond even these limits with laws in 23 countries-Canada, Germany, Vietnam, Denmark, Ghana, and Zambia-allowing for abortion at any time during the pregnancy on the request of the mother. 

>>Despite a sustained government push over years, contraceptive use in India is not very popular. According to a 2018 study by the Guttmacher Institute, 50% of pregnancies in six of the larger Indian states — Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh — are unintended. 

>>Data from the National Family Health Survey 4 show that just 8% of couples in the country use modern contraceptive methods; only 53% use any method at all. 

>>There is an abortion rate of 47 per 1,000 women aged 15-49. 

>>A number of foetus abnormalities are detected after the 20th week. Usually, the foetal anomaly scan is done during the 20th-21st week of pregnancy. If there is a delay in doing this scan, and it reveals a lethal anomaly in the foetus, 20 weeks period is limiting.