Every pregnant woman irrespective of marital status has right to choose to undergo abortion: Supreme Court | India News
In an important ruling aimed at further enhancing women’s reproductive rights and also to end various misconceptions that only married women are allowed to have abortions, a bench of Judge D. Y ChandrachudLIKE Bopanna and JB Pardiwala argued that women’s rights would be attacked if women were forced to continue unplanned pregnancies.
It said married and unmarried women are allowed to decide on unintended abortions under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP) and the rules made under the Act.
“If Rule 3B(c) were interpreted so that its benefits extended only to married women, it would perpetuate the stereotype and societal notion that only married women to have sex, and therefore, the benefits under the law must extend only to them. This artificial distinction between married and single women is not constitutionally sustainable. The law extends equally to both single and married women.
Section 3(2)(b) of the MTP Act authorizes the termination of a pregnancy between twenty and twenty-four weeks, for those categories of women that may be covered by Rule and Rule 3B(c) stating that a change in marital status during an ongoing pregnancy (widow and divorce) that makes a woman eligible for termination. But the rule was to be silent in the case of unmarried women and on that basis, the Delhi senior Cout rejected a woman’s plea for an abortion from Manipu and she then approached the apex court.
The Court held that the right of every woman to have reproductive choice without undue interference from the state was central to the idea of human dignity and the deprivation of access to reproductive health or Emotionally and physically also damage women’s dignity.
“Social factors are often underpinned by legal barriers restricting women’s access to abortion. The decision to have an abortion or not is made in the context of complex life circumstances that only a woman can afford. reproductive autonomy requires that every pregnant woman has the substantive right to choose to have an abortion or not to have an abortion without any interference or influence. any consent or authorization from a third party, “Justice Chandrachudwho wrote the judgment for the bench, said.
It has been suggested that unmarried women end up using unsafe and life-threatening abortion methods because of the bad stigma attached to premarital sex and emphasizes that the law Law needs to evolve with changing times and requires legal recognition of non-traditional relationships.
The bench said “If women with unintended pregnancies are forced to carry a full-term pregnancy, the state will deprive them of their right to decide on their immediate and long-term path. Depriving women of their autonomy is not only for to their bodies but also to their lives would be an insult to their dignity.The right to choose for oneself – as meaningful as one’s life choices or as mundane as the a person’s daily activities – form part of the right to Dignity. This right will be attacked if a woman is forced to continue an unwanted pregnancy.”
“While much of the benefit of the law derives (and indeed is) from the institution of marriage, modern law is dispelling the notion that marriage is a prerequisite to the rights of the individual. individuals (alone or in relation to each other) Changing society Much more must be kept in mind when interpreting the provisions of a law to advance its object and purpose”. the chairman said, adding, “The law must maintain awareness of the fact that changes in society have led to significant changes in the structure of the family.”
“In the evolution of legislation towards a gender-equal society, the interpretation of the MTP Act and the MTP Rules must consider today’s social realities and not be constrained by the social norms of the times. has been stored in the history of society change and develop, so do our conventions and conventions The changing social context requires a re-adjustment of our laws. remain the same and its interpretation should take into account the changing social context and advance the cause of social justice,” it said.
