General condition to be fulfilled
All women coming to a health facility seeking termination of pregnancy up to 7 weeks period of gestation (49 days from the first day of the last menstrual period in women with regular cycle of 28 days) provided the following aspects have been assessed and found appropriate:*frame of the mind of patient and her acceptability of minimum three follow-up visits
*ready for surgical procedure if failure or excessive bleeding occurs
*family support
*permission of guardian in case of minor as per MTP Act 1971
*easy access to appropriate health care facility
Only registered medical practitioners as prescribed by the MTP Act are authorized to prescribe mifepristone with misoprostol for medical abortion (Definition 2(d) of section 2 and MTP rule 3).
Mifepristone with misoprostol for termination of early pregnancy not exceeding seven weeks, may be prescribed by a registered medical practitioner as prescribed under section 2 (d) and rule 3, having access to a place approved by the Government under section 4 (b) and rule (1), for surgical and emergency back-up when such a back-up is indicated.
This may include primary health care-clinic or hospital-based set-up. Initial workup, counseling, prescription and administration could be in a clinic or in the consulting room.
Home administration of misoprostol may be advised at discretion in certain cases with an access to 24-hours emergency services.
Choice between Medical and Surgical Abortion
*Vacuum Aspiration (Suction evacuation) is the most commonly-used method for termination of early pregnancies. However, being a surgical technique, it is associated with risks of infection, perforation of uterus, incomplete abortion and post-procedure uterine synechiae formation (Asherman's Syndrome).*The success of abortion with drugs depends on multiple factors including the regimen used,dosage schedule, route of administration and gestational age. However, after counseling, the woman should be allowed to make an informed decision.
*Mifepristone with misoprostol is favourable if pregnancy is = 7 weeks.
*Surgical abortion is preferred if patient desires concurrent tubal ligation.
*If a woman fulfills the criteria for selecting either method, final choice to be given to the woman.
Adapted from the Wikipedia article Abortion in India, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
