Question

Assertion (A): Abortion may be induced at twenty weeks of gestation without second medical opinion.

Reason (R): The conditions for medical termination of pregnancy have been liberalized in India.

• A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
• B. Both A and R are true but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
• C. A is true but R is false.
• D. A is false but R is true.

Hint:

Check how many doctors' opinions the MTP Act needs once a pregnancy crosses 12 weeks.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

This question tests the actual rule in India's MTP Act about how many doctors must agree before a later pregnancy can be ended. Let's go through the options.

1. Both true, R explains A: This needs the assertion to be true, but at twenty weeks the law asks for two doctors, not one, so this option does not hold.
2. Both true, R does not explain A: Again this needs A to be true, which it is not, so this option is out too.
3. A true, R false: This fails on both counts, since A is actually false and R is actually true.
4. A false, R true: The MTP Act sets 12 weeks as the point where the rule changes from one doctor's opinion to two doctors' opinions, and twenty weeks is well past that point, so a second opinion is legally needed. This makes the assertion false. Separately, it is a plain historical fact that India's abortion law has been made more permissive over the decades, which makes the reason true on its own. This option fits.

So the law does allow termination at twenty weeks, but only with two doctors signing off, not one, which is why the assertion as worded is incorrect while the general point about liberalization remains correct.

Let's summarize:

• Up to 12 weeks needs one doctor's opinion, 12 to 20 weeks needs two.
• India's MTP rules have genuinely become more liberal over time, but that fact alone does not make the twenty-week, single-opinion claim true.

So A is false but R is true.