The termination of an unwanted pregnancy as a medical solution to what essentially is a social problem requires critical consideration of all aspects of the problem, especially in the commercialized culture of the medical profession. In India, medical termination of a pregnancy is a complex multi-dimensional issue. Abortions in India - whether therapeutic or non-therapeutic, clinical or criminal, safe or unsafe, as well as gender-selected - and all such related aspects are examined in this book, which is a compendium of the medical, legal, and social dimensions of induced abortions. The book will be of great interest to women in general and women activists in particular, along with medical professionals and policy makers, as well as both pro-abortion and pro-life groups.

India was a pioneer in legalizing induced abortion, or Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) in 1971. Yet, after three decades, morbidity and mortality due to unsafe abortion remain a serious problem. There is little public debate on the issue despite several national campaigns on safe motherhood. Instead, discussion on abortion has mainly centred around declining sex ratio, sex-selective abortion, and the proliferation of abortion clinics in urban areas. Adding to the problem is that abortion continues to be a sensitive, private matter, often with ethical/moral/religious connotations that sets it apart from other reproductive health-seeking behaviour. This book fills a gap in our understanding of the ground realities with respect to induced abortion in India to create an evidence-based body of knowledge. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, the case studies show why and under what circumstances women seek abortion and the quality of services available to them. They also explore inter-generational differences in attitudes and practices, the perceptions and selection of providers, female-selective abortion, and informal abortion practitioners. Among other issues, the contributors show that strong preference for sons, availability of modern techniques for diagnostic tests, widespread acceptance of the small family norm, and heavy reliance on female sterilisation as the primary method of contraception lead women to abort unwanted pregnancies. A book that goes beyond the smokescreen of data and regulations to unravel the human story behind elective abortion, it will be of interest to those studying health, public policy, and gender, apart from the general reader.

At a UN General Assembly Special Session in 1999, governments recognised unsafe abortion as a major public health concern, and pledged their commitment to reduce the need for abortion through expanded and improved family planning services, as well as ensure abortion services should be safe and accessible. This technical and policy guidance provides a comprehensive overview of the many actions that can be taken in health systems to ensure that women have access to good quality abortion services as allowed by law.

Does sex-selective abortion have an impact on gender differentials in child morbidity and mortality in India? If prenatal discrimination against girls has been substituting for postnatal discrimination, then eliminating sex-selective abortion may lead to an increase in excess female infant and child mortality. In this careful and thorough study that employs data from a 20-year period, Dr. Mary Elizabeth Shepherd investigates the issues behind the sex ratio imbalance in India. This timely work not only has critical implications for India, but its insightful findings will also be highly informative for many countries or societies dealing with sex ratio imbalances.

Chandrasekhar, the author of India's 1971 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, which legalized abortion in that country, examines the effect of the legislation on poor women. He discusses the Indian view of abortion, the history of India's abortion legislation, demographic effects of abortion, and female feticide. Appendices include a list of medical indications for termination of pregnancy, figures on illegal abortions before 1971, and US Supreme Court decisions on abortion cases. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Based on extensive original field research, this provocative collection presents case studies from Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and India. It includes an insight into the conditions and hard choices faced by women and the circumstances surrounding unplanned pregnancies.