Unlike U.S., Indian Supreme Court upholds Women’s Rights for Abortion

In a landmark judgment on Thursday, the Supreme Court provided enormous relief to all women, upholding their right to medically terminate their pregnancy, if they so willed. This is in sharp contrast to what happened in the United States, a few months ago where the Supreme Court of that country reversed the Roe vs Wade ruling of 1973, thereby making abortion illegal in several states. This ruling was described as regressive by women groups there and several protests were held in multiple cities of the country, which is looked up to by people around the world for freedom of individual rights. Roe was the legal pseudonym of Norma McCorvey, a 22-year old mother of two children, who wanted to medically terminate her foetus of the third child, which was the result of her rape. The Texas court had decided in Norma’s favour and against the pleadings of Wade, who was the Attorney General. The US Supreme Court reversed this decision. The Indian Apex court while providing a detailed interpretation of who all were legally eligible for an abortion, also included in its decision, the right of even single women to go in for abortion, if they so wished. The Supreme Court also made very significant observations regarding marital rape and held that it was not legal, thus leaving the wider interpretation open for the future. This is the first time that the highest Court of the land, has talked about marital rape and has stated that any pregnancy caused because of force or pressure by the husband, came under the purview of an abortion, if it was against the will of the wife. The historic judgment widely welcomed by women rights activists seeks to tilt the balance in favour of pro-choicers as against pro-lifers. Many religions do not permit abortion and it is considered to be a sin, if a woman chooses to terminate her pregnancy. However, there is no ambiguity in the Supreme Court order which seeks to give the women, an option to go in for abortion. In case of single women, the Court has opined that they could use their choice till the first 24 weeks. Importantly, the order shall allow women, many of them victims, to seek medical assistance at all authorized hospitals instead of risking their lives by going to quacks for the termination of pregnancy and make this act legally valid. This order can also be a boon for women in live-in relationships where their partner may try to dump them once they were pregnant. Abortion in other words would no longer be a taboo, at least constitutionally and as per the law of the land. Many women have to bear a child, even if it is known that he or she was going to be medically unfit or may suffer from some sort of physical or mental disorder following his or her birth. The order has further vindicated the faith of the common man in the topmost court and is a tribute to the wisdom of the Judges. The Order should also serve as a warning to bully husbands and overbearing in-laws who may wish to impose their will on helpless women for being pregnant a multiple-times. It is a decision which favours family planning and welfare and needs to be universally hailed.