Information on abortion is limited and inaccurate especially in the developing world, which has led to several speculations on the prevalence of abortion in this region.

Muslims form the largest minority group in India. According to the 1991 census, they constitute about 12 per cent of the country's population. In absolute terms, Muslims in India total 101.6 millions which gives India the distinction of having the second largest Muslim population in the world.

This paper analyses, from the perspective of women's human rights, an unsuccessful attempt to amend the abortion law in the Penal Code of Sri Lanka in 1995.

The Indian Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act came into force in 1972, in response to the high mortality and morbidity associated with illegal abortion. However, 25 years on, both restrictions in the law and the way it is implemented through service delivery have failed to meet the aborti

Abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and contributes significantly to maternal morbidity.

Numerous studies have found that most Indian couples have a strong preference for sons over daughters. In an effort to have sons, many couples continue to have children after achieving their desired family size. This practice may have retarded India's fertility decline.

The health care scenario for women, especially apropos reproductive health, is highly exploitative, with extensive human rights violations. Women are treated as expendable entities.

Literature is replete with images of the reproductive profligacy of the poor in India. In much popular nderstanding, this is frequently adduced as the cause of the poverty of the poor and indeed of the country.

A growing recognition that population dynamics, quality of life and women's status are closely inter related argues strongly for a fresh look at India's population program.

In many developing countries, women's activities, traditionally confined to the household, have changed over time.