Introduction: Termination of pregnancy has been prohibited by law in many countries, but in India induced abortion is legal, under the medical termination of pregnancy act (MTP) 1971. Despite the emergence of health services and availability of legal abortions, estimated 22 million abortions continue to be performed each year unsafely, resulting in the mortality of almost 47,000 women and morbidity for 5 million women due to ignorance amongst women. This study was done to evaluate the level of awareness, attitude and acceptability abortion law among MTP seekers at a tertiary care center.
Materials and methods: Structured questionnaire-based interview schedules were used to assess the awareness, attitude, and acceptability of the MTP seekers.
Results: About 95.4% and 31.6% have a vague idea about the gestational limit and indication for MTP. 87.8% had the preference for Government hospital only because of the “low cost of treatment”. 45.5% preferred only lady doctor and 83.6% felt that husband's consent is mandatory for MTP. 13.7% of women were aware that it is legal under certain circumstances.
Discussion: Women should be motivated to overcome socioeconomic and religious barriers and adopt effective contraception. Mass media should be made more informative and effective regarding safe abortion (gestational limit, person, place), usage of emergency contraception, mifepristone, and misoprostol for early abortion and discourage delay in decision making for MTP.