Mumbai: 95% fall in abortions among under-15, experts worry unsafe options on rise

MUMBAI: The number of girls below 15 years of age who underwent medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) at the city’s registered centres has dropped a staggering 95% over the last five years, fuelling worry that many could be going for unsafe or illegal abortions. This, even as, there has been an overall rise of 20% in women of all ages undergoing termination of pregnancy at these centres, showed data sourced from the BMC using the Right to Information Act.

According to the data, in 2018-19, 36,315 women underwent abortion at registered centres, of which 11 were below 15 years of age and 500 in the 15-19 age group. When compared with 2014-15, when 30,742 abortions were carried out at MTP centres, around 185 were below 15 of age and over 1,400 in the 15-19 age bracket. The numbers translate into a 95% fall in the below 15 years bracket and that of 65% in the 15-19 age group.
Experts say the numbers could indicate both positive and negative trends. “It could mean that teenagers know about safer means of contraception and therefore, there are fewer pregnancies. It could also indicate a lesser number of girls getting married early. But that sort of change would take decades and cannot occur in just five years. Hence, the number could only imply that the adolescents are going elsewhere,” said a senior gynaecologist from one of the BMC hospitals. Experts further pointed out that the data recorded at BMC’s centres is only a tip of the iceberg as there is no mechanism to record medical MTPs—abortions using pills.
A joint study by the International Institute for Population Sciences and the New York-based Guttmacher Institute published in the Lancet in 2017 had stated that 81% of abortions in India were done using medication. Only 14% were performed surgically in health facilities, and the remaining 5% of abortions were performed outside, including unsafe methods.
Gynaecologist Dr Nozer Sheriar, who was a part of the study, called the 2018-19 data “concerning”. “Medical abortions have moved out of clinics and the system has failed to keep a track of those numbers. The data we have now is mostly of surgical abortions, which is a small percentage,” he said. “In my opinion, law enforcers must see the impact that Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, has had on teenagers wishing to access safe abortion. It could be the case that they are shying away from accessing services in centres known to report cases.”
Vinoj Manning, executive director of Ipas Development Foundation, a non-profit that works for safe abortion, said that adolescents, considered one of the most vulnerable groups, often face barriers in accessing safe abortion services. “There is an imperative need to make adolescent-friendly comprehensive abortion care services available. This is critical also because of the challenges POCSO Act imposes on safe abortion services,” he said. In India, unsafe abortions have been contributing to around 8% of maternal deaths, he said.