Select Page

Indian ministers intend to introduce “eugenic” abortions says Indian Health Minister

A new Bill will be put forward in India which will remove legal safeguards for unborn babies and likely permit abortion up until birth for babies with serious disabilities, in what the Minister for Health is calling “eugenic” abortion.

Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (1971) abortion is permitted without restriction in India up until the 12th week of pregnancy. Abortion is then permitted up until the 20th week of pregnancy with the approval of two doctors.

An amendment to this Bill is currently being drafted which will aim to increase the availability of abortion and even permit abortion up until birth if the baby has a serious disability.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that the ministry was in the process of finalising the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Draft Amendment Bill, 2019.

The Minister said: “The Ministry [of Health] has proposed to amend the MTP Act, 1971, to… expand access to abortion services on therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian and social grounds.”

The move to increase abortion access in India comes at the same time as a series of Bills across the Commonwealth seeking to do the same. In New Zealand and New South Wales, Australia, Bills which make abortion legal up until birth are going through their parliaments, and the Parliament in Westminster has just voted to remove all legal safeguards surrounding abortion in Northern Ireland through to 28-weeks.

Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said:

“It is astounding to hear the Minister of Health speak so candidly about ‘eugenic’ abortion. Eugenic abortions frequently happen in the West but they are rarely characterised as such. For example, approximately 90% of babies in the UK diagnosed in the womb with Down’s syndrome are aborted.”

URGENT
APPEAL
to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.

Dear reader,

Despite the Leadbeater assisted-suicide Bill passing its Third Reading on 20 June, it scraped through by just 23 votes (314-291) after enjoying a 55-vote majority at Second Reading. Had 12 more MPs switched sides, the Bill would be dead. It now limps into the Lords with a wafer-thin majority, where peers can amend, delay or reject it outright.

THE CHALLENGE

Dignity in Dying, My Death My Decision and Humanists UK have poured millions into pushing assisted suicide and will fight hard to stop the Lords overturning the Bill.

At the same time, the Antoniazzi abortion-up-to-birth amendment, passed by MPs in June, also heads to the Lords. If it becomes law, it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason – including sex-selective purposes – and at any point up to and during birth.

We will be up against the UK’s largest abortion providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes), who are expected to push for even more extreme changes to our abortion laws in the Lords.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Thousands of vulnerable lives are now at stake. Battling these two threats is the biggest and most expensive effort in our history, and has drained our limited resources. To fight effectively on both fronts, we aim to raise £200,000 by midnight this Sunday (13 July 2025).

Every donation, large or small, will help protect lives, and UK taxpayers can add 25p to every £1 through Gift Aid at no extra cost.

Will you make a donation now to help protect vulnerable lives from these major threats?

URGENT
APPEAL
to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.