Section 188
Prohibition Of Abortion
(1) No person shall, except in the case
referred to in Section 189, commit abortion, or do any act with intent
to cause, or with the knowledge that, or having reason to believe that,
such act is likely to cause, abortion.
(2) No person shall cause a pregnant woman to abort, by
coercing, threatening, alluring or inducing her to so abort.
(3) A person who commits the offence referred to in subsection
(1) or (2) shall be liable to:
(a) A sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding
one year and a fine not exceeding ten thousand rupees in
the case of pregnancy of up to twelve weeks,
(b) A sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding
three years and a fine not exceeding thirty thousand
rupees in the case of pregnancy of more than twelve
weeks and up to twenty-five weeks,
(c) A sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding
five years and a fine not exceeding fifty thousand rupees
in the case of pregnancy of more than twenty-five
weeks.
(4) If the pregnancy is not terminated at once by an act of
abortion and the child born alive but the child dies immediately after
birth as the consequence of such act, such act shall, for the purposes
of this Section, be deemed to constitute the offence of abortion.
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(5) If an act done by a person in making attempt to cause
the death of a pregnant woman does not cause the death of the
woman but causes the termination of her pregnancy of twenty-five
weeks or more, the offender shall be liable to a sentence of
imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, in addition to the
sentence to be imposed under this Act or other law.
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this
Section, if any act done by a person with premeditation against a
pregnant woman causes abortion, that person shall be liable to the
following sentence despite the fact that he or she has not done such
act with the intention of causing abortion:
(a) A sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding
one year in the case of pregnancy of up to twelve weeks,
(b) A sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding
three years in the case of pregnancy of more than twelve
weeks and up to twenty-five weeks,
(c) A sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding
five years in the case of pregnancy of more than twentyfive
weeks.
(7) No person shall, with the intention of causing abortion,
do, or cause to be done, any act by which the sex of the foetus is
identified, and abort or cause abortion following such sex
identification.
(8) A person who commits the offence referred to in subsection
(7) shall be liable to:
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(a) A sentence of imprisonment for a term of three months
to six months, in the case of the offence of identifying,
or causing identification of, the sex of the foetus with
the intention of causing abortion, and
(b) A sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding
one year, in addition to the sentence specified in subsection
(3), in the case of the offence of aborting or
causing abortion after identifying the sex.