In a landmark judgement the Supreme court today said that all women are entitled to safe and legal abortion.
The apex court observed that all women in India have the right to choose and that unmarried women have the right to get an abortion under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP).
No distinction will be made between married and unmarried women under the abortion law in India, said the apex court. For purposes of abortion, rape will include marital rape too.
In what is seen as a significant judgment, the apex court stated on Thursday that unmarried women are also entitled to seek abortion in the term of 20-24 weeks arising out of a consensual relationship.
It also called the exclusion of unmarried women conceiving out of a live-in relationship from the MTP Act ‘unconstitutional’. Unsafe abortions continue to be the third leading cause of maternal mortality. 60 per cent of abortions carried out in India are unsafe.
By denying access to safe abortion services, restrictive abortion practices lead to unsafe abortions,” it said, further adding, “Married women may also form part of the class of survivors of sexual assault or rape.
A woman may become pregnant as a result of non-consensual sex with her husband.” The Supreme Court also said that registered medical petitioners do not need to disclose the identity of a minor if she seeks an abortion under the POSCO Act.
