Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021, India, a woman at 20 weeks of pregnancy who is a survivor of sexual assault requests termination. Which statement correctly describes the current legal framework?

• A Termination up to 24 weeks is allowed for rape survivors with opinion of two registered medical practitioners; beyond 24 weeks only with Medical Board approval for fetal anomaly ✓
• B Termination up to 20 weeks requires opinion of one registered medical practitioner; beyond 20 weeks requires two RMPs
• C Termination beyond 20 weeks is not permitted under any circumstances without court order
• D Termination up to 24 weeks requires only one registered medical practitioner's opinion for all categories

Explanation

The MTP (Amendment) Act 2021 extended the upper gestational limit to 24 weeks for special categories including survivors of rape/sexual assault, minors, women with disabilities, and pregnancies with fetal anomalies — requiring opinion of two registered medical practitioners. For up to 20 weeks, one RMP's opinion suffices. Beyond 24 weeks, termination is allowed only for substantial fetal abnormality as diagnosed by a State/UT Medical Board. Prior to 2021, the limit was 20 weeks (with the same 2-doctor criterion for 13–20 weeks). Unmarried women are now included in the special categories eligible for termination up to 24 weeks per the 2021 amendment.

Reference: Williams Obstetrics, 26th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.