Abortion rates in Mumbai have doubled in 5 years, report

Abortion

According to a recent study by the BMC’s family welfare department, the number of recorded abortions in the city have doubled in the last five years.

Reportedly, 34,790 abortions were carried out between April 2015 and March 2016- the highest ever in a 12 month period. In comparison, merely 19,959 abortions were recorded five years ago, in the period from April 2011 to March 2012.

Additionally, a breakdown of the statistics revealed that abortions carried out in the first trimester of pregnancy had doubled as well, with 32,725 in 2015-16 from 12,893 in 2011-12.

The statistics also show that the number of abortions performed after the first trimester- where in sex determination of the foetus is possible- had variably decreased from 3,066 to 1,329 in the same 5-year span. But, speculations are rife about this decline as activists have argued that some doctors are recording second-trimester abortions as first trimester ones.

As for the rise in overall numbers, BMC has attributed it to the recording of abortions via pills and their use of enhanced online recording system.