Checking the blind spots in India’s abortion ruling

17 December 2022
Authors: Niharika Rustagi and Kaushambi Bagchi, NUS

Sexual and reproductive health rights are crucial to women’s bodily autonomy and empowerment. But women from many countries are not guaranteed these fundamental rights. Landmark rulings in several countries have paved the way for access to abortion services, maternal healthcare and assisted reproduction, including in countries with restrictive reproductive rights laws.

In India, legal reforms related to reproductive rights have been in progress for some time. In 2021, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 1971, which had previously restricted safe and legal abortions to married women, was amended to include unmarried women. On 29 September 2022, the Supreme Court of India passed a judgement that guaranteed all women, regardless of their marital status, the right to undergo abortions up to 24 weeks into their pregnancy up from 21 weeks.

Continued: https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2022/12/17/checking-the-blind-spots-in-indias-abortion-ruling/

The Worrying Disappearance of Medical Abortion Drugs in India

The Worrying Disappearance of Medical Abortion Drugs in India

SAAKHI CHADHA
Aug 29, 2019

India legalized abortions in 1971 with the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act — becoming one of the first few countries to give women the option to abort even in situations that are not life-threatening.

Undoubtedly, the law is among the more progressive abortion laws that exist in the world. Advances in medicine and technology have opened doors to safer and more convenient options, such as medical abortion drugs (mifepristone and misoprostol) that can be used within ten weeks of pregnancy.

Continued: https://fit.thequint.com/her-health/medical-abortion-pills-drugs-disappearing-from-indian-retail-chemists

India: In Madhya Pradesh, an innovative solution that shows the way to end unsafe abortions

In Madhya Pradesh, an innovative solution that shows the way to end unsafe abortions
Madhya Pradesh, according to a 2015 Guttmacher Institute report, is among six states where the maternal mortality rate is higher than that of India — 221 compared to 167 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Written by Shai Venkatraman
Published: May 22, 2019

Clad in a hospital gown, Rukhsan Banu waits outside the MTP OT (Medical Termination of Pregnancy Operation Theatre) at the Elgin Rani Durgavati Hospital in Jabalpur. The 24-year-old, just over two months pregnant, does not want to keep the baby. “My husband and I have two children and we don’t want any more”.
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Rukhsan and her sister-in-law travelled for over three hours from their home in Seoni village to come here for the procedure. The operation theatre, which opened in September 2017, is the first of its kind at a government hospital in India.

Continued: https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/in-madhya-pradesh-an-innovative-solution-that-shows-the-way-to-end-unsafe-abortions-5741511/

Need to pay attention to India’s illegal abortions

Need to pay attention to India’s illegal abortions

Over 75 per cent abortions estimated to occur in India annually are done bereft of health facilities and around 5-7 per cent abortions that are done outside licensed facilities use other methods that are possibly dangerous. The figure may be higher as non-institutionalised abortions cannot be recorded. The situation is even worse for single and divorced women and those living in rural regions, reports Subhangi Singh

By Tehelka
June 18, 2018

A dozen women are sitting around a lavish living room in Chandigarh, full of bubbling chatter and cocktail flutes. A gripping game called ‘Never Have I Ever’ is in full swing. Nina (name changed) raises her glass and declares, “Never have I ever had an abortion!” The room suddenly falls silent and everybody, except Nina, takes a sip from their respective glasses. It is a kitty party. Most of the women are married. The conversation invariably veers towards recurrent abortions in married and divorced women. Nina whispers that Shehnaz (name changed) tops the list as “she keeps having these abortions now and then.”

Continued: http://www.tehelka.com/need-to-pay-attention-to-indias-illegal-abortions/

India: When knowledge can be fatal

When knowledge can be fatal
Thursday, 18 January 2018 | Swapna Majumdar | in Oped

It is disheartening that the courts have failed women in strengthening access to comprehensive abortion care. The country needs a gender-responsive justice system

The judiciary plays a key role in interpreting laws. On a sensitive issue like abortion, where policy and legal ambiguities exist, clarity provided by the court can ensure a woman's right to bodily integrity and autonomy. This is especially so when laws, like the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 (PCPNDT Act) contradict provisions for safe abortions in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act. Yet, a review of all judgements interpreting the MTP Act and other laws related to abortion till 2016 show that directives passed by three important Indian courts have perpetuated stereotypes of women seeking abortion.

Continued: http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/oped/when-knowledge-can-be-fatal.html

18.01.2018

Mangla Dogra vs Anil Malhotra case

Medical Termination Of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

PCPNDT Act

Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act 1994

sexist court decisions

India: A Maharashtra committee wants to restrict access to all abortions – even legal ones

A Maharashtra committee wants to restrict access to all abortions – even legal ones
The panel has suggested tracking pregnant women to prevent sex-selective abortions.

July 17, 2017
Priyanka Vora

A Maharashtra government committee investigating deaths in Sangli district allegedly linked to illegal abortions has recommended steps that will curtail access to legal terminations of pregnancy.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy or MTP Act allows abortions for up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy. But one of the recommendation made by the committee is to restrict access to abortion pills, so that they are not used to conduct sex-selective abortions. Maharashtra has a skewed sex ratio with 883 girls for every 1,000 boys born, according to the 2011 census.

Continued at link: Scroll In: https://scroll.in/pulse/844023/a-maharashtra-committee-wants-to-restrict-access-to-even-all-abortions-even-legal-ones