Mumbai: Abortions among teenage girls at record high, reveals RTI

Mumbai, May 14: In an alarming rate of unwanted pregnancies, an RTI query accessed through civic data has revealed that 67 percent of teenage girls in Mumbai have undergone abortions.

As per a report published in TOI, out of 3,100 women, 1,600 were under the age of 19.

According to the data collected from all licensed Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) IN Mumbai, in 2013-14, 111 girls, under the age of 15, underwent abortions and in 2014-15, 185 girls underwent abortions.

The report further claimed that most of the abortions were reported from Andheri East and West, with nearly 6,000 cases.

23,000 out of 30,000 women stated 'failure of contraceptives' as the main reason behind abortions. Other reasons were danger to mother's life or that the child may suffer from abnormalities. Rape was shown as the reason for pregnancy, in at least ten cases.

Health experts and doctors stressed on the need of sex education at school and college levels, to spread awareness about safe sex and to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

In India, Medical Termination of Pregnancy is allowed only till 20th week of pregnancy. If an unregistered medical practitioner performs the abortion, then it comes under punishable offence, with rigorous imprisonment of two to seven years.

OneIndia News