Kathmandu, July 3 -- Doctors and health experts have expressed concern over a provision in a new abortion law that allows the termination of pregnancies at up to 28 weeks in certain special cases.

Section 4 (15) of the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act, passed by Parliament in September last year, allows abortions as late as 28 weeks in cases of rape, incest, serious health risks to the mother or if the fetus is found to have genetic defects.

Officials at the Safe Motherhood Unit under the Family Welfare Division, which prepared the draft of the new law, said they were surprised by the 28-week provision in the Act.

"We had proposed extending pregnancy terminations to 22 weeks, up from the existing provision of 18 weeks...