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.

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.

We live in an era of paradoxes and contradictions - the reality was never so multifaceted, the issues never so complex. Everything around us seems to be melting and unfortunately the new forms acquired by the congealing of the molten mass leaves us little to rejoice at.

Throughout history, women have practiced forms of birth control and abortion. These practices have generated intense moral, ethical, political and legal debates since abortion is not merely a techno-medical issue, but, "the fulcrum of a much broader ideological struggle in which the very meanings

Medical termination of pregnancy or MTP is a well-utilized procedure today especially in the urban areas of India. As such, therefore, a large number of women would be involved if post-MTP complications were to occur frequently.

Shortcomings of contraceptives and of family planning delivery systems are major reasons for unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion in Third World countries.

This paper presents a part of the qualitative exploratory study conducted in rural Maharashtra from April 1994 to April 1996 to understand the issue of abortion from women's perspective.