Samita, a 35-year-old mother of two, lives near Calcutta. Since the birth of her first son 10 years ago, she has taken extreme measures to self-induce abortions on three occasions: per her midwife’s instructions, she inserts a small grapevine stalk into her uterus, which causes heavy bleeding and intense pain. After her most recent attempt, Samita’s pain continued for more than 10 days. Her family took her to the nearest hospital, where doctors gave Samita blood transfusions and heavy doses of antibiotics. Samita’s doctor said that if she had delayed coming in by just one more day, she would have died.

India has one of Asia’s broadest abortion laws. Under the 1971 Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, abortions may be performed by a registered physician in a government-approved hospital or facility during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. However, in this sprawling country of more than 1 billion people, progressive laws do not guarantee access to safe services. Although abortion has been legal in India for decades, unsafe abortions far outnumber legal procedures — an estimated 90 percent of abortions performed in India are unsafe.

Ipas India — headquartered in New Delhi with field offices in Pune (Maharashtra), Ranchi (Jharkhand) and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) — combines research, advocacy and promotion of other abortion technologies to make a positive impact on the health of Indian women.

Learn more about Ipas's work: Ipas in India