Key Points: Reproductive Health Laws in India

India's Family Planning Programme (1951)

• India was the FIRST country in the world to launch a national family planning programme.
• Year: 1951. Subsequent revisions expanded from population control to broader reproductive health.

MTP Act (Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971)

• Legalizes pregnancy termination by qualified medical professionals.
• Standard gestational limit: 20 weeks.
• MTPs in the first trimester (up to 12 weeks) are safest — fewer complications.
• 2021 Amendment: Extended limit to 24 weeks for special categories:
  • Rape survivors
  • Differently-abled women
  • Minors
  • Women with fetal abnormalities
  • Other vulnerable categories defined by the government
• Critical NEET distinction: 20 weeks = standard; 24 weeks = only for special categories (2021).

PCPNDT Act (Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994)

• Full form: Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act.
• Year: 1994.
• Primary purpose: Ban prenatal sex determination to prevent female foeticide.
• Bans: Use of amniocentesis, ultrasound, or any prenatal diagnostic technique for sex determination.
• Covers: Both pre-conception (selecting embryos by sex) and pre-natal (determining sex of existing fetus) stages.
• Penalties: Both the practitioner and the person seeking sex determination face legal penalties.
• Permits: Amniocentesis for legitimate medical uses (chromosomal abnormalities, genetic disorders).

Key NEET Year-Act Pairs

• 1951 → Family Planning Programme
• 1971 → MTP Act (20 weeks)
• 1994 → PCPNDT Act (sex determination ban)
• 2021 → MTP Amendment (24 weeks for special categories)

Mnemonic: "51, 71, 94, 21 — four milestones in India's reproductive health history"