Induced Abortion across the World and Evolution of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Law in India: A Review

Induced abortion is in the world for a long time. It is an ancient universal practice and has gained attention for different reasons at different points in time. It depicts termination of pregnancy by artificial means and having political, religious, cultural, and social reflections. Laws on abortion vary across the world. Some countries are highly progressive in-laws and provide it on request, while others ban it. The liberalization of medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) law is a matter of intense controversy and in some countries, there is a challenge to already existing liberal laws. Access to abortion is considered as a women’s right, human right, reproductive right, and health right by the proabortion movement group, support to the life of embryo (embryo right) is provided by antiabortion movement group. Induced abortion has been used as a method of fertility regulation and it is a key tool in population policies. It is an important subject for demographers and health professionals. Safe and unsafe abortions are the center of discussion in many countries. This article provides knowledge on the definition, grounds of abortion, the status of induced abortion around the world, unsafe abortion, and literature review of medical termination of pregnancy in India.