The Indian abortion law remains patriarchal, hetero-normative and transphobic. The law is yet to recognise a woman’s bodily autonomy and thus to acknowledge abortion as a matter of right. The authority of decision-making upon a person’s pregnancy rests with the State and the woman has to wait for the State’s benevolence which leads to a plethora of illegal and unsafe abortions.
Shahina K. K.
16 OCT 2023
While considering the plea of a 26-year-old woman for medical termination of the 26-week-old fetus, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud observed that India is far ahead of other countries with regard to abortion laws. He also remarked that Indian law gives paramountcy to the life of the mother.
How close does this observation go to reality? Does Indian law respect a woman’s autonomy over her body? A closer examination of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 and the prevailing court judgments present a less sanguine perspective. Even the recent 2021 amendment to the MTP Act, rather than broadening access to abortion services, tends to restrict it.