Abortion in Dubai compared to Abortion in Bangalore India – What are your options?

May 12, 2021
Abortion, Abortion Clinic, Abortion Pills, Dubai, Surgical Abortion, UAENo Comments

Last Updated: April 18, 2025

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Dubai, well known for its beauty, tourism and hospitality sadly does not welcome right to abortion as a reproductive right of women.

Resident and expat women in Dubai realize the stringent abortion laws of UAE when an unwanted pregnancy happens with them or their acquaintances. 

When things get out of control?

One can control getting pregnant. But what about incidences when a woman is unable to control the unexpected circumstances? What if the woman is already a mother of more children than she can raise due to her social or economic conditions? What if a woman gets pregnant out of her marriage? Another thing, what if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest? Even marital rapes exist and what is a woman’s option if she chooses not to become a mother at that particular time? What to do in events of contraceptive failure? What if an unmarried girl gets pregnant and does not want to welcome the child at this point? 

If you are a woman in Dubai or any other part of the UAE and finds any of the aforementioned questions as a common touchpoint with your problem, then you are at the right place. This post intends to educate women regarding healthy and safe options when they choose to opt-out of an unwanted pregnancy. 

The foremost important thing is to relax and free yourself from stress. Getting worried will do no good to your already existing condition.

Whenever in life comes such unplanned situations, the best part is to focus on finding the best possible solutions rather than acting in panic. So, if you are wanting an abortion in Dubai, it is better you first equip yourself with specific pertinent information. 

A few minutes spent on a well-educating article is better than getting nervous and end up in a further worse or an alarming situation.

Laws governing abortion in Dubai

Whether you are a citizen of the UAE or working there or living as an expat and seeking an abortion, the existing laws there will guide and govern your reproductive rights. 

The laws for abortion in UAE are a part of the UAE Penal Code as a part of section 340.

It is sad, but true that laws see abortion in UAE as a criminal and a punishable act. It can get you imprisoned, deported, in financial, social and professional losses.

You can avail of an abortion in UAE only under highly restricted circumstances, such as:

  • If there is a proven danger to the woman’s life very clearly specified by the medical practitioner.
  • If the child to be born will not survive due to fetal anomalies. 

These are just the broad circumstances. Getting deeper may let you know that obtaining a legal, safe and confidential abortion in Dubai may not be a viable option.

Even in the case of fetal deformities, there needs to be evidence that the child will not survive for long. It is important to note that it is not possible to detect all deformities within the legally permissible gestation age for abortion in such instances. This is the biggest reason, women in Dubai resort to unsafe abortion methods like availing abortion pills illegally or Do it Yourself (DIY) unsafe abortions.

However, the fact is that most of them end up with worse situations. They may either spend their entire lives with co-morbidities or may even have to pay the cost of abortion with their lives.

Remember, whatever be your circumstances right now, you deserve professional medical care by all means. Do not fall in for anything like DIY that may put you in another set of complicated situations. Unsafe abortions are the leading causes of maternal mortalities and morbidities. There is always a bright side, the only thing is to look at it and arrive at the most suitable solution. 

If you seek advice from any of your friends, in most cases he/she will recommend you to travel to a country with liberal abortion laws, obtain an abortion and return. In our recommendation also, this can be your best option. Coming to the country where it is possible to obtain a safe, legal as well as confidential abortion and not at all far from Dubai is India.

Abortion in Bangalore, India compared to abortion in Dubai

Here is your guide as to how an abortion hospital in Bangalore, India is different from an abortion hospital in Dubai. 

Legal regulations:

Permitted Circumstances:

It is possible to get an abortion in Dubai only for the abovementioned circumstances. On the other hand, one can get an abortion in India for several reasons which are far more liberal.  These are:

  • In case of contraceptive failure. (The most common reason for the majority of women) 
  • In case pregnancy affects the physical or mental health of the woman. 
  • If there is a threat to the life of the woman or even if she is mentally incapable.
  • In case of fetal anomalies detected through the prenatal examination.
  • In case the pregnancy is an outcome of rape/incest.

Gestational length:

Abortion laws not only vary in events when it is legal to avail an abortion but also in many other concerns. One of them is the gestation length, i.e., up to how many weeks or days is the abortion permissible.

In Bangalore, India, abortion is legally permissible for up to 20 weeks (140 days) in general circumstances. Besides, one can also get an abortion in India up to 24 weeks (168 days) in special circumstances such as in case of fetal anomalies. 

Whereas in Dubai, abortion is permissible for the allowable circumstances only up to 17 weeks or 120 days. 

Marital status:

Getting an abortion in Dubai is one of the major concerns of women who get pregnant outside of their marriages or for unmarried girls.

In UAE, pregnancy outside marriage is a sin and also a punishable offence. Such girls and women receive punishment for getting pregnant in the first place and then, they do not get permission to abort the unwanted pregnancy. 

But the conditions are different in India. Here, a woman can obtain an abortion at her will for an unwanted pregnancy regardless of her marital status. 

Consent for abortion:

As compared to Dubai where consent of both woman and her partner is necessary for abortion when it is legal, in India, only the woman’s permission is enough if she is an adult, i.e., above 18 years of age. 

In Dubai, it is not only the consent but also the couple has to provide proof of their marriage for availing an abortion.

Abortion options at American Hospital Bangalore (AHB), India as compared to an abortion clinic in Dubai:

India is the most favourite medical destination for foreign patients coming from many parts of the world. This is very true in events where the medical reason is obtaining a safe abortion.

One of the best reasons to visit India for availing an abortion is that any woman regardless of her nationality can avail a safe, legal and confidential abortion. This has been possible due to Indian abortion laws which consider access to Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) , recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a reproductive right of every woman. 

But even in India, it is better not to blindly travel to any place and randomly avail abortion. You do have better options in terms of health, safety, comfort and convenience when it comes to abortion in India.

So, you must stay calm because an agitated and frustrated mind cannot look for the best solutions. You are not alone and there is always help. The idea behind this very post is to help women like yourself understand the importance of safe abortion. 

Here are some of the reasons that make American Hospital Bangalore (AHB) your best option: 

  • First is its location as a city in India where abortion laws are liberal. Besides, it is extremely easy to travel here through a short flight of not more than 3.3 hours. There are several regular flights from Dubai to Bangalore and also return flights. You can easily schedule a return trip.
  • You can return the same day or the subsequent day. Plus, you can stay at any hotel or guest house at your convenience. There are multiple cab options available at the airport that can conveniently bring you to the hospital premises and also take you anywhere from there. 
  • One of the best things is the availability of different methods of abortion as recommended by the WHO. These are also your options, but which one will be feasible for you will depend largely upon your gestation length. If you know how far along you are in your pregnancy, these are the methods from which the doctor will prescribe you the best one for you.

MEDICAL ABORTION:

If your pregnancy is less than 6 weeks, you can undergo Medical method of abortion. It is with safe abortion pills, which you may have to take either orally or through a vaginal route as the doctor may recommend for you.

The abortion through this method is known as the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP). The medicines approved for aborting constitute an MTP kit containing two pills, Mifepristone and Misoprostol. The main features of this method are:

  • It needs either two appointments for different pills. Or you can take one pill at the hospital and the other at hotel room or homestay wherever you are staying a few hours later (24-36 hours usually).
  • It is 92% – 93% effective. It means sometimes, abortion may remain incomplete and products of gestation may remain in the uterine cavity causing various complications. The doctor will then have to remove them surgically.
  • You will have to wait for at least one week to be sure that abortion is complete. And the doctor shall confirm it through a transvaginal scan. This means, for this abortion method, you may need to stay in India for a longer period. 
  • It is available only for intrauterine pregnancies and not for ectopic pregnancies.
  • Medical abortion comes with abdominal cramps, pain and heavy bleeding. So, if you are not willing to experience these or wait for a longer time to ensure the abortion success and also want to avoid any possibility of incomplete abortion, it is better you can opt for suction abortion even if you are eligible for abortion pills.
Gentle Care suction abortion in India is efficient and safer abortion method than abortion with pills.

Gentle Care suction abortion vs Medical abortion

SUCTION ABORTION:

If your pregnancy is beyond 8 weeks but has less than 12 weeks, the most likely abortion method for you is Vacuum Aspiration. The doctor can either use a manual aspirator or an electric one. The first one is known as the Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) and the latter as Electric Vacuum Aspiration (EVA).

At AHB, both the methods are available and the doctor decides as per case-specific which one to choose. The basic procedure remains the same in both and lasts between 5–15 minutes. It is a very gentle procedure. The doctor gently introduces a tube in the uterine cavity through the vaginal route. Then, she applies suction to remove and all pregnancy products.

The procedure is painless. Besides, to relieve anxiety, the doctor may perform is under mild sedation making it absolutely painless. But, do not worry, since the procedure is small, you can take discharge the same day within half an hour or so as soon as you feel comfortable.

Advantages of Suction Abortion Over Medical Abortion:

Patients visiting India for abortion mostly prefer the vacuum aspiration method of abortion if they are in their first trimester of pregnancy even when they have a medical method as an option due to the following benefits.

  • This procedure needs a single appointment, unlike the MTP. It is an OPD procedure with the patient taking discharge on the same day. This makes it possible if you wish to get back to your country the same day. Or you can also take rest for a night and travel back the next day.
  • The patient resumes normal health within a couple of days and can get back to normal day to day activities. Whereas, with abortion pills, you will experience mild to moderate pain accompanied by bleeding. And it might take up to 7 days for you to get back to normal. Bleeding with the VA method is mild in most cases.
  • The procedure is extremely gentle and painless.
  • It is nearly 100% efficient. So, you can be sure that that your abortion was complete before you leave the American Hospital Bangalore. On the other hand, with the medical method, you will need to wait for 7 days to be completely confident of successful abortion.

Moreover, in a country where getting an abortion is illegal, getting a transvaginal scan to confirm the successful abortion is further difficult. So, either you will have to wait in India until you are sure of a successful abortion or may need to plan a revisit. This will not only increase the cost of abortion, but will also add to a lot of hassle for you at physical, emotional, professional, psychological ad sometimes social fronts.

SURGICAL ABORTION:

If you are in the second trimester, i.e., your pregnancy is beyond 12 weeks but is still in the legally permissible age of 20 weeks, then the prescribed method of abortion will be the Surgical method, medically known as Dilatation and Evacuation (D&E).  At AHB, this is also a gentle procedure performed under anaesthesia.

It takes less than 30 minutes and the procedure involves gently removing uterine contents using gentle tools. At this stage, the vacuum aspiration method is not recommended since the embryo has grown to a bigger size and some small products of gestation may remain in the uterine cavity.

Key features of the D&E method of abortion are:

  • At AHB, it is an entirely painless procedure performed by experienced doctors.
  • It is nearly 100% efficient and like the vacuum aspiration method, if this is your prescribed method, you can return with the confidence of successful abortion.
  • You can expect to get discharged the same day in a couple of hours as soon as you feel comfortable. You can take a day or two’s rest and resume your normal activities when you get back to your country.
  • Furthermore, you can expect mild vaginal bleeding for a couple of days. 

You should avail of an early abortion since with each passing day, your options taper down.

Several foreign patients travel to AHB, India to avail safe abortions and most of them are in the first trimester. Hence, they prefer the Vacuum aspiration method of abortion.

Other benefits of obtaining an abortion at AHB include: 

  • AHB is a premier certified abortion clinic with highly experienced doctors and internationally trained nurses and other paramedical staff.
  • Before prescribing any method of abortion, your case will be entirely studied through clinical studies and transvaginal scan. These are necessary to avoid any complications like that of an ectopic pregnancy.

It is therefore essential that you do not try to avail yourself of abortion pills illegally in your country.

If you self-administer abortion pills as soon as you find out about an ongoing unwanted pregnancy before ascertaining that the pregnancy is intrauterine, abortion will not take place if the pregnancy is ectopic.

And you may end up with complications like that of a burst fallopian tube. This can even be fatal and immediate medical attention is sought in these cases. 

  • AHB is a premier hospital furnished with world-class facilities including furnishings besides excellent medical services. 
  • AHB has highly hygienic premises and you can expect a comfortable stay.
  • The abortion will be kept completely confidential. No medical details about you or your abortion can ever be disclosed to anyone besides yourself. 
  • There is a huge societal stigma in Dubai, which is absolutely absent at AHB. Moreover, all the doctors and staff members will provide you with secure treatment, treat you with due respect without any judgements or viewpoints.
  • You can schedule an appointment before coming and you will not have to wait for your turn. You will be treated in a private room and consultation will be one-to-one.
  • A compassionate, caring and highly experienced nurse will stay by your side to assist the doctor and aid in anything you may need.

The Verdict

For a legal, safe and confidential abortion without anybody knowing, AHB is your best option where experience, expertise and efficiency are the three earned accolades. 

For any queries, you can always call American Hospital Bangalore’s helpline number. You can also drop a comment in the comment section below or for personal guidance, feel free to message and request a call back.

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  5. Where to have a Legal Abortion in Dubai, the UAE?

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