All women have rights to safe abortion, says SC

All women are eligible to undergo legal abortions, regardless of their marital status, the Supreme Court of India stated. The court observed that the unmarried woman is also entitled to terminate a pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and Rules until 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The court added that ‘the rights of reproductive autonomy’ grants unmarried women the same rights as those of a married woman regarding termination of pregnancy.

The court also added that if Rule 3B (c) of the MTP Act is understood to be applicable only to a married woman, it will perpetuate the wrong notion that only married women indulge in sexual activities. Calling it constitutionally unsustainable, the court ruled that the forced distinction between married and unmarried women cannot be permitted. The court, furthermore, said that women should be granted the autonomy to exercise their legal rights to abort.

The SC bench of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala was hearing the plea filed by a 25-year-old-unmarried woman against the Delhi HC order denying her permission to abort her pregnancy.

She argued in the plea that the pregnancy resulted from consensual sex, but her partner has refused to marry her. Therefore, she approached the Delhi high court seeking permission to terminate the pregnancy. However, the court denied her permission, claiming that the clauses under the MTP Rules, 2003 do not include unmarried women whose pregnancy arose out of a consensual sexual relationship.

Granting her permission to abort, the supreme court opinionated that Rule 3B (c) of the MTP Act should be construed in a broader sense to include unmarried women who have been abandoned by their partners.

The supreme court’s ruling comes at a time when women’s rights to terminate a pregnancy are debated worldwide.