Abortion Laws
In a significant step backward for women’s rights in the U.S., the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade judgment of 1973, which gave women in America the right to have an abortion before the fetus is viable outside the womb or before the 24-28 week mark. Now it will be determined by individual States.
A brief history of how abortion laws came about in India?
In the 1960s, in the wake of a high number of induced abortions, the Union government ordered the constitution of the Shantilal Shah Committee to deliberate on the legalization of abortion in the country. The Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act was brought into force in 1971. This law is an exception to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) provisions 312 and 313 and sets out the rules of how and when a medical abortion can be carried out. Under Section 312 of the IPC, a person who “voluntarily causes a woman with child to miscarry” is liable for punishment, attracting a jail term of up to three years or fine or both, unless it was done in good faith where the purpose was to save the life of the pregnant woman. Section 313 of the IPC states that a person who causes the miscarriage without the consent of the pregnant woman, whether or not she is in the advanced stages of her pregnancy, shall be punished with life imprisonment or a jail term that could extend to 10 years, as well as a fine.
Evolution of MTP Act from 1971 to 2021:
The latest amendments to MTP are:
1. Termination due to Failure of Contraceptive Method or Device: Under the Act, a pregnancy may be terminated up to 20 weeks by a married woman in the case of failure of contraceptive method or device.
2. Unmarried women: It allows unmarried women to also terminate a pregnancy for this reason.
3. Opinion Needed for Termination of Pregnancy:
Opinion of one Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) for termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation. Opinion of two RMPs for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation. The opinion of the State-level medical board is essential for a pregnancy to be terminated after 24 weeks in case of substantial fetal abnormalities.
4. Upper Gestation Limit for Special Categories: Increases the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women, including survivors of rape, victims of incest, and other vulnerable women (differently-abled women, minors, among others).
5. Confidentiality: The “name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed”, except to a person authorized in any law that is currently in force.
Steps Taken by the Government for Safe Abortions:
1. The Government provides safe and comprehensive abortion care (CAC) services to women in health facilities under the RMNCH+A (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health) program of the National Health Mission.
2. Provision of Funds to States to plan and implement comprehensive “Information Education & Communication/ Behaviour Change Communication (IEC/BCC)” activities for maternal health including safe abortion care.
3. Capacity Building of Medical officers in Safe Abortion Techniques and of ANMs, ASHAs, and other functionaries to provide confidential counseling for safe abortion and promote post-abortion care.
4. Supply of Nischay Pregnancy detection kits to sub-centers for early pregnancy detection.
Abortion laws around the world:
1. According to the global advocacy group, Center for Reproductive Rights, Abortions are illegal in 24 countries, where about 90 million or 5 percent of women of reproductive age reside. These include Senegal, Mauritania, and Egypt in Africa, Laos and the Philippines in Asia, El Salvador and Honduras in Central America, and Poland and Malta in Europe.
2. As per the hardline laws in some of these countries, women are imprisoned for getting abortions. In El Salvador, for instance, several women who have undergone abortions have been found guilty of “aggravated homicide”, including in cases of miscarriage.
3. Malta is the only country in the European Union that bans abortions under all circumstances. Just last year, the country witnessed a massive pro-choice movement calling for the country’s centuries-old abortion laws to be reversed.
4. In 2021, Poland introduced a near-total ban on abortions, allowing the procedure only in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk.
5. Many African nations have either banned abortions altogether, or severely restricted them. In Nigeria, the procedure is only permitted if the mother’s life is in danger. Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe and Botswana, it is allowed in cases of incest, fetal defects, and rape. In Africa, while the number of unintended pregnancies has dropped by about 15 percent in the last three decades, abortions have shot up by about 13 percent according to data compiled by Guttmacher Institute.
6. Around 50 countries — including Libya, Indonesia, Nigeria, Iran, and Venezuela permit abortions if a woman’s health is at risk. Several others allow it in cases of rape, incest, or fetal abnormality. For instance, Brazil allows abortion only in cases of rape or fetal disability.
My opinion:
Access to legal and safe abortion is an integral dimension of sexual and reproductive equality, a public health issue, and must be seen as a crucial element in the contemporary debates on democracy that seeks to provide a just society that abhors all sorts of discrimination. From an ethical standpoint, the discussion or pregnancy termination is between a woman’s right over her body and the fetus’s right to life. One cannot force a woman to bear a child in her womb and give birth to a child if she does not want to do so for various reasons. when deciding to terminate a pregnancy voluntarily, a woman faces a true “moral dilemma” or “moral conflict,” because such a decision frequently takes into account human relationships, the possibility of not hurting others, and responsibility towards others. We need to understand that prohibiting or restricting abortion services does not eliminate the need for abortion. Instead of limiting abortion rates, restricting abortion access raises the risk of unsafe procedures and creates the risk of enacting criminal laws that require people to report or be prosecuted for suspected abortions. These dangers disproportionately affect people who are poor or face systemic discrimination. In India, under Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) vs. the Union Of India And Others (2017), the court recognized the constitutional right of women to make reproductive choices, as a part of personal liberty under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. I personally feel that The government needs to ensure that all norms and standardized protocols in clinical practice to facilitate abortions are followed in health care institutions across the country. Along with that, the question of abortion needs to be decided based on human rights, the principles of solid science, and in step with advancements in technology.
