India – Criminalisation of even consensual sex between adolescents obstructs access to safe abortion for girls

Criminalisation of even consensual sex between adolescents obstructs access to safe abortion for girls

October 19, 2019
Vrinda Grover

Unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of maternal mortality in India, leading to about 10 deaths every day. ‘The incidence of abortion and unintended pregnancy in India, 2015’ study records that of the 15.6 million abortions in 2015, only 22% were conducted in health facilities, whereas an overwhelming 78% abortions were done outside health facilities. Adolescent girls, in the age group of 16-18 years, are left at the mercy of life-threatening pregnancy termination methods. A 2010 facility-based study discloses that 20-30% of abortion seekers were unmarried young women and adolescent girls; and 16.7% of them were victims of sexual abuse.

Significantly, this life endangering vulnerability is abetted by the law. Section 19(1) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act stipulates mandatory reporting of all sexual offences against a child to the law enforcement authorities, and failure to report the same entails punitive consequences.

Continued: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/criminalisation-of-even-consensual-sex-between-adolescents-obstructs-access-to-safe-abortion-for-girls/