Medical Termination
of Pregnancy Act, 1971
Thirteen chapter notes covering the law of medically terminating pregnancy in India — the conditions for termination, the gestational limits raised to twenty-four weeks by the 2021 amendment, the categories of women covered, the role of the Medical Board for late-stage terminations, the registered medical practitioner regime, and the post-X v. Principal Secretary expansion to all women. Section first, gestation limit second, leading case third.
MTP — the medical and the personal balance.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971, substantially amended in 2021, governs the termination of pregnancy in India. The Act removes termination from the IPC Section 312 to 314 framework where it would otherwise be a criminal offence, and creates a regulated medical framework for permitted terminations. The 2021 amendment raised the outer gestational limit from twenty weeks to twenty-four weeks for specified categories of women, and replaced the husband’s consent with the woman’s consent for married women. The Supreme Court in X v. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare (2022) extended the benefit of the 2021 amendment to all women, including unmarried women in consensual relationships.
These notes anchor every chapter to its statutory section. The most-tested provisions are Section 3 (when pregnancies may be terminated), Section 3(2) (the gestational limits), Section 3(2B) (the Medical Board for terminations beyond twenty-four weeks), and the post-2021 changes including the removal of the husband’s consent.
Each chapter is designed to be read in twelve to fifteen minutes and to leave the reader with the statutory section, the gestational threshold, the category of woman, the medical-practitioner requirement, and the leading authority.
How to read these notes
Start with the section.
Every chapter opens with the precise Section of the MTP Act. Read it. The most-tested provisions — Section 3, Section 3(2), Section 3(2A), Section 3(2B) — must be cited section-and-clause with attention to the post-2021 amendment language.
Test the gestational threshold.
Every MTP question first identifies the gestational age and matches it to the threshold. Up to twenty weeks: one registered medical practitioner. Twenty to twenty-four weeks: two practitioners, and the woman must fall in a specified category. Beyond twenty-four weeks: only with Medical Board approval and only in cases of substantial foetal abnormality. The threshold determines the procedure.
Test on the leading case.
If you can restate the holding of X v. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Suchita Srivastava v. Chandigarh Administration, or Anand Mohan v. State in two sentences, you understand the chapter. If not, return to the statutory section and rebuild from there.
All 13 chapters, in 3 groups
Sequenced through the natural structure of the subject — every chapter sits in a doctrinal cluster.Foundations & Conditions for Termination
Sections 1–3 — when termination is permitted
The Act’s scope and applicability, the relationship to IPC Sections 312 to 314 (which would otherwise criminalise termination), the definitions including registered medical practitioner. The Section 3(1) general permission for termination by a registered medical practitioner. The Section 3(2) conditions on which a pregnancy may be terminated — risk to life, risk to physical or mental health, foetal abnormality, contraceptive failure.
Gestational Limits & the Medical Board
Sections 3(2)(a)-(b), 3(2B) — the time framework
The 2021 amendment changes — up to twenty weeks on the opinion of one practitioner, twenty to twenty-four weeks on the opinion of two practitioners for specified categories of women. The Section 3(2B) Medical Board for terminations beyond twenty-four weeks in cases of substantial foetal abnormality. The composition of the Medical Board with a gynaecologist, paediatrician, radiologist or sonologist, and other members notified by the State.
Consent, Place & Wrap-Up
Sections 4–7 + reference
The Section 4 place where pregnancies may be terminated — a hospital established or maintained by Government, or a place approved by Government. The Section 5 emergency-termination exception. The post-2021 single-consent rule — the woman’s own consent for adult women, guardian’s consent for minors and persons with mental illness. The X v. Principal Secretary expansion to unmarried women. The interface with IPC and POCSO, and the landmark Supreme Court decisions on bodily autonomy.