Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (Amendment) 2002

The choice for abortion is not 'equal' for all women in India; the unmarried ones bear the maximum brunt.

FRIDAY, JULY 09

"I was 21 and unmarried when I conceived my first child. My partner was not ready for marriage yet, and I was not ready to abort my child. I had no means to sustain our (me and my baby) lives. My parents rushed me to the nearby doctor and wanted me to say that I wanted the abortion. I had no say in making probably what was the biggest decision of my life. I did not know what to do, who to approach. I wish I knew how to stand for myself," says Urmila (name changed).

Very little is known or discussed on young Indian women who seek medical termination of pregnancy for unintended pregnancy. What is appalling is that not many women themselves know much about their legal rights or safety concerns regarding abortion.

Continued: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/abortion-case-unmarried-women-india-everything-you-need-know-152027

How stigma and restricted access stop Indian women from seeking safe abortions
When women who approach doctors are denied abortion, they are forced to break the law and opt for unsafe abortion. The result? Unsafe abortions is the third leading cause of maternal mortality in India.

Haripriya Suresh and Shiba Kurian
Friday, November 30, 2018

For her first termination of pregnancy, Aishwarya* had gone to a gynaecologist, but was flat out denied by the doctor, who said she would not perform the abortion. The doctor then referred her to a colleague, who turned out to be an IVF specialist. The second doctor, too, denied her the abortion, and instead asked her to carry the pregnancy to term and have a baby. Aishwarya was seven weeks pregnant at the time, but the IVF specialist refused to give her a medical kit, and stated that she was too far along, and asked her to come in for a prohibitively expensive surgery to abort.

“I walked out of the hospital, went to my neighbourhood pharmacy, asked for the kit, and I self-medicated,” Aishwarya says.

Continued: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/how-stigma-and-restricted-access-stop-indian-women-seeking-safe-abortions-92505