The Union Cabinet has approved an amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill to make legal access to abortion easier for special cases. The government has increased the limit on termination of pregnancy from 20 to 24 weeks. The move aims at discouraging informal termination of pregnancies and reducing the maternal mortality rate.

Welcoming the amendment, cricketer Mithali Raj said, "The Bill is a forward, progressive move giving much relief to ‘special cases’ such as unwanted pregnancies for rape victims/differently-abled women."

The amendment comes as a relief also to single women, survivors of incest rape, etc. "The new Bill would also ensure safe termination of pregnancy, besides giving women reproductive rights over their bodies," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar has been quoted as saying.