Intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy before full term is called Medical Termination of pregnancy (MTP) or induced abortion. Nearly 45 to 50 million MTPs are performed in a year all over the world which accounts for 1/5th of the total number of conceived pregnancies in a year. Whether to accept / legalise MTP or not is being debated upon in many countries due to emotional, ethical, religious and social issues involved in it. Government of India legalised MTP in 1971 with some strict conditions to avoid its misuse. Such restrictions are revised in 2017 to check indiscriminate and illegal female foeticides which are reported to be prevalent in India. MTPs are considered relatively safe during the first trimester, i.e., up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. Second trimester abortions are much riskier. Unintended pregnancy occurs due to unprotected intercourse or failure of contraceptives used during intercourse or rape. MTP is also required for special cases such as continued pregnancies that are harmful or fatal to the mother or child or both.