“Official” abortion numbers are grossly underestimated

The government figures on the number of abortions committed so far since 1971 is around 25 million. However, this figure does not represent the true number of abortions; it only accounts for abortions committed at government-approved facilities by registered practitioners. Therefore, illegal sex-selective abortions, legal abortions committed at private hospitals, and medication abortions (RU-486) obtained over-the-counter or on the black market are not included in this data.

Since the year 2000, the government has been reporting that an average of 700,000 abortions were committed in registered facilities in the country annually. But several reports over the years contradict this number significantly.

Since 1976, several reports have claimed that 4-7 million abortions occur annually in India. Chabbra and Nuna (1994) found that an estimated 6.7 million abortions were committed in the country annually — and in 2002, the Abortion Assessment Project of India estimated an annual figure of 6.4 million. UNICEF’s report (1996) estimated 5 million annually.

But, even more shocking, a recent study conducted by IIPS (the International Institute of Population Sciences) and the Guttmacher Institute listed the actual incidence of abortion in India for 2015 at 15.6 million — a figure twenty times higher than the government reports.   

Abortion pill sales have skyrocketed

According to a report published in Lancet Global Health, in 2016, India recorded a staggering annual sale of 11 million doses of mifepristone and misoprostol — the RU-486 abortion pill regimen. (To compare, in 2012, 7 million were sold, and in 2011, 6 million.) These packs can only be used for abortion. The Indian government has allowed the use of mifepristone and misoprostol for abortion since 2002 — and in just five years (2002 to 2007), the country saw a whopping 646% increase in the sale of abortion pills. The total market for abortion pills in India is 400 crores ($4 billion).

(Click here for information on abortion pill reversal.)

Sex-selective abortions are still prevalent

The data on the prevalence of sex-selective abortions also paints a bleak picture. Almost 4.2 to 12.1 million sex selective abortions were committed in a period of three decades (1980-2010). This data correlates with recent estimates by the Population Research Institute, derived from the figures provided by India’s government, that 11 to 14 million sex-selective abortions were committed since 1990. Abortion promoters around the world celebrate ‘chemical abortion’ as liberating, empowering, modern and reliable. But in India, it has exacerbated the problem of gendercide, targeting women even before they’re born.

There is a widespread consensus among scholars that the annual estimate of 6 million abortions is an underestimate. But even taking these low estimates as an average, one can see that the number of preborn children killed in India totals nearly 300 million.

Last year, the Prime Minister’s office disapproved of an attempt to extend the legal abortion limit to 24 weeks after a Sangili incident in which aborted baby girls were fed to dogs. However, another effort this year, backed by the National Commission for Women, the government is seeking to extend legal abortion to 24 weeks. For preborn babies with disabilities, there would be no limit, and abortions could be committed up to birth.

If this effort is passed, India will soon surpass China in the slaughter of massive numbers of preborn children.

The government figures on the number of abortions committed so far since 1971 is around 25 million. However, this figure does not represent the true number of abortions; it only accounts for abortions committed at government-approved facilities by registered practitioners. Therefore, illegal sex-selective abortions, legal abortions committed at private hospitals, and medication abortions (RU-486) obtained over-the-counter or on the black market are not included in this data.

Since the year 2000, the government has been reporting that an average of 700,000 abortions were committed in registered facilities in the country annually. But several reports over the years contradict this number significantly.

Since 1976, several reports have claimed that 4-7 million abortions occur annually in India. Chabbra and Nuna (1994) found that an estimated 6.7 million abortions were committed in the country annually — and in 2002, the Abortion Assessment Project of India estimated an annual figure of 6.4 million. UNICEF’s report (1996) estimated 5 million annually.

But, even more shocking, a recent study conducted by IIPS (the International Institute of Population Sciences) and the Guttmacher Institute listed the actual incidence of abortion in India for 2015 at 15.6 million — a figure twenty times higher than the government reports.   

Abortion pill sales have skyrocketed

According to a report published in Lancet Global Health, in 2016, India recorded a staggering annual sale of 11 million doses of mifepristone and misoprostol — the RU-486 abortion pill regimen. (To compare, in 2012, 7 million were sold, and in 2011, 6 million.) These packs can only be used for abortion. The Indian government has allowed the use of mifepristone and misoprostol for abortion since 2002 — and in just five years (2002 to 2007), the country saw a whopping 646% increase in the sale of abortion pills. The total market for abortion pills in India is 400 crores ($4 billion).

(Click here for information on abortion pill reversal.)

Sex-selective abortions are still prevalent

The data on the prevalence of sex-selective abortions also paints a bleak picture. Almost 4.2 to 12.1 million sex selective abortions were committed in a period of three decades (1980-2010). This data correlates with recent estimates by the Population Research Institute, derived from the figures provided by India’s government, that 11 to 14 million sex-selective abortions were committed since 1990. Abortion promoters around the world celebrate ‘chemical abortion’ as liberating, empowering, modern and reliable. But in India, it has exacerbated the problem of gendercide, targeting women even before they’re born.

There is a widespread consensus among scholars that the annual estimate of 6 million abortions is an underestimate. But even taking these low estimates as an average, one can see that the number of preborn children killed in India totals nearly 300 million.

Last year, the Prime Minister’s office disapproved of an attempt to extend the legal abortion limit to 24 weeks after a Sangili incident in which aborted baby girls were fed to dogs. However, another effort this year, backed by the National Commission for Women, the government is seeking to extend legal abortion to 24 weeks. For preborn babies with disabilities, there would be no limit, and abortions could be committed up to birth.

If this effort is passed, India will soon surpass China in the slaughter of massive numbers of preborn children.

Guest Column

India ‘celebrates’ World Population day by setting up sterilization camps