Irrespective Of Marital Status, Women Have The Right To Safe And Legal Abortion: Supreme Court
Irrespective Of Marital Status, Women Have The Right To Safe And Legal Abortion: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of India ruled on Thursday that all women, whether married or unmarried, are now granted the right to safe and legal abortion up to 24 weeks of being pregnant under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act. With the advancement of society, changing trends, and modernization, the laws must be amended too, stated the Court in the significant judgment.
In 1971, back when MTP Act was first executed, abortion had been legalized for women who were married. However, women who were not tied in the bond of marriage had no access to taking the action for themselves making it obvious that engaging in sexual activities was considered to be the right or interest of married women only. It is no secret that back in the day, the engagement of unmarried women in sexual activities was taboo. Even though it does not signify that they never got involved in such activities, it was only veiled with the most opaque sheets. However, in today’s era when live-in relationships are immensely common and acceptable to some extent, there’s a high chance of women going through an unwanted pregnancy. This is especially true because women are now more sexually aware as well as independent enough to control their own sex life.
The only person entitled to choose whether to abort or not is the one who is pregnant. If an unmarried woman chooses to stay pregnant and raise a child on her own, she has the right to do so. On the contrary, if a woman chooses to abort a child due to the agitation of bringing a life into an unwelcoming condition, she has the right to do so. A woman has the right to choose whether to abort or not when the health of the child may be at stake. A child being born into a situation where it gets neglected or has to go through undernourishment is nothing more than a torment.
This pioneering announcement by the Supreme Court is a revolutionary one not only because the engagement in sexual activities of unmarried women is being normalized but also because when women around the world are fighting for their right to abortion every day, India, a country that is often considered backward in the eyes of foreign nations, has turned the tables and granted rights for the betterment of their women citizens’ situations. It has added a new tab to the book of equality and the rights of women.
The vigorous amounts of protests for legalizing abortion in countries like the USA have led to the creation of a website abortion.co.gov that’s been launched by the Governor of California Gavin Newsom that provides information on where one can get abortion services inside and outside California. Despite the extreme methods of the USA government illegalizing abortion, the Governor of California is taking a step toward making the world a more liberal place.