Explained | How Did Abortions Go From Being A Crime To Being A Right In India?

India's abortion laws have come a long way from 1862 when abortion could get you as much as 7 years in jail.

VISHNU GOPINATH
01 Oct 2022

In June 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned the decades-old Roe v Wade judgment, which afforded abortion rights to all women, making the matter subject to state laws.

But on our own home turf, on 29 September, the Supreme Court ruled that all women are entitled to abortion rights, whether single or married.

Contiuned: https://www.thequint.com/explainers/explained-history-of-abortion-rights-india

01.10.2022

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India – An Important First Step On The Road to Reproductive Justice, But Safe Abortion Remains Out Of Reach

The Supreme Court’s 29 September 2022 decision on abortion has provided legal armour for many pending cases on reproductive justice related to, among others, surrogacy, assisted reproduction and marital rape. But its impact on access to safe abortion will be limited.
APARNA CHANDRA
01 Oct 2022

Bengaluru: X* is a 25-year-old woman from Manipur, the eldest of five siblings and the daughter of farmers. She was living in Delhi with her unmarried partner. In June, 2022, X found out that she was pregnant and was set to marry her partner.

At the last minute, her partner refused to marry her.

Continued: https://article-14.com/post/an-important-first-step-on-the-road-to-reproductive-justice-but-safe-abortion-remains-out-of-reach-63383eddf1325

U.S. state courts have become an electoral battleground in the abortion fight

Normally sleepy court races are increasingly becoming high-stakes

The Associated Press
Posted: Sep 30, 2022

Surrounded by states with abortion bans that took effect after Roe v. Wade fell, Illinois is one of the few places where the procedure remains legal in the Midwest — but abortion rights supporters are worried that might not last.

Their concern is shared in at least a half-dozen states, and this year, it's not just about state legislatures. In Illinois, Democrats hold a supermajority, and the governor, a Democrat, is expected to win re-election.

Continued: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/state-supreme-courts-battleground-abortion-1.6602208

30.09.2022

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40 Journalists Across Cameroon Schooled on Reprodcutive Rights Reporting

Published on 30.09.2022
Nana Kamsu Kom

A two days workshop on Sexual Reproductive Health Reporting was held in Yaounde from September 28th to 29th 2022. An initiative spearheaded by Sisterspeak237 and the Canadian Embassy.

Reporting on sensitive topics like female health reproduction has being a hard task for many journalists over the years. That was the backbone of a workshop on Sexual Reproductive Health Reporting which aimed at creating a bond and possible collaboration between journalists and Doctors. The Society of Gynecologist and Obstetricians Cameroon, SOGOC, engages into a 6 months project of intense collaboration with journalists ; to facilitate access to information.

Continued: https://www.journalducameroun.com/en/40-journalists-across-cameroon-schooled-on-srhr/

30.09.2022

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International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

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Society of Gynecologist and Obstetricians Cameroon

By recognising pregnant woman’s right to dignity and autonomy, Supreme Court has made informed decisions on reproductive health possible

On the International Safe Abortion Day, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court emphatically held that all women are entitled to safe and accessible abortions in India.

ROHIN BHATT
SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

WHEN the Delhi High Court dismissed the matter of X versus. The Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, I was apprehensive that this case would end in disappointment and result in a situation which is similar to what is happening after the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dobbs versus Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) in the U.S. In an earlier piece for The Leaflet around this decision, I ended with the following question — “to what length must a woman have to go in order to protect her fundamental right of bodily autonomy under Article 21 [of the Constitution]?”

The Supreme Court of India, in appeal, has answered my question affirmatively in favour of the womanhood. On the International Safe Abortion Day, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court emphatically held that all women are entitled to safe and accessible abortions in India.

Continued: https://theleaflet.in/by-recognising-pregnant-womans-right-to-dignity-and-autonomy-supreme-court-has-made-informed-decisions-on-reproductive-health-possible/

30.09.2022

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India abortion: Why Supreme Court ruling is a huge step forward

By Geeta Pandey, BBC News, Delhi
Sept 30, 2022

Just weeks after the US Supreme Court passed a controversial order to ban or severely restrict the ability for pregnant women to get abortions, a similar case made headlines in India.

While the Roe v Wade ruling was described as "a huge step back for women's rights", Thursday's order by the Indian Supreme Court - in contrast - is being hailed as "historic" and "a big step forward" for women's rights.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-63086321

Her mother’s abortion was required under China’s one-child policy. Her own would be illegal under Tennessee’s post-Roe ban

by Eric Boodman
Sept. 29, 2022

It started as a joke. Jen was early in her first pregnancy, sitting with her husband after lunch. You know those gimmicky websites, he was saying, where you can name a star after someone and the person gets a certificate in the mail? What if, instead, we named our child after the biggest planet in the solar system?

He was kidding, but Jen kind of liked it. Jupiter. She liked the sound of it — and how awesome, to share a name with something so huge, encircled by so many moons. She hadn’t imagined herself as a mom. When they were looking at houses, she’d insisted on a yard for their dog; she hadn’t been thinking about room for kids. But then something in her shifted, and here they were, in their dining room, in a green-lawned Tennessee neighborhood, joking about what to call their first child. Jupiter was a perfect middle name — semi-secret, a nod to this wild gravitational pull.

Continued: https://www.statnews.com/2022/09/29/abortion-roe-tennessee-ban-fetal/

29.09.2022

India’s top court gives equal abortion access to all women

India’s Supreme Court has ruled that all women, regardless of marital status, can obtain abortions up to 24 weeks into their pregnancies

By BHUMIKA SARASWATI, Associated Press
September 29, 2022

NEW DELHI -- India's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that all women, regardless of marital status, can obtain abortions up to 24 weeks into their pregnancies.

Previously, under India’s abortion law, married women could have abortions up to 24 weeks into their pregnancies, but single women were limited to 20 weeks. On Thursday, the court extended the 24-week period to all women.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/indias-top-court-equal-abortion-access-women-90689941

Landmark Indian court ruling says rape includes marital rape and extends abortion rights to 24 weeks

By Manveena Suri and Jack Bantock, CNN
Thu September 29, 2022

Marital rape was defined as rape in a landmark decision by India’s Supreme Court on Thursday.

The country’s top court also stated that all women, regardless of their marital status, have the right to an abortion up until 24 weeks, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/asia/india-supreme-court-marital-rape-abortion-intl

29.09.2022

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India – Experts on why Supreme Court’s ruling, granting abortion access to all married and unmarried women, is crucial

"Abortion is essential healthcare and women's basic right," Kalai Selvi A, Certified Lactation Care Counselor, said

By: Lifestyle Desk
New Delhi | September 29, 2022

All women, irrespective of their marital status, are entitled to safe and legal abortion, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. In a landmark judgment, the country’s apex court said that the rights available to married women under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, to abort a foetus will also be available to unmarried women. “If Rule 3B(c) is understood as only for married women, it would perpetuate the stereotype that only married women indulge in sexual activities. This is not constitutionally sustainable,” a bench, presided by Justice D Y Chandrachud, said.

Continued: https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/supreme-court-ruling-abortion-rights-all-women-married-unmarried-health-importance-experts-quotes-8179977/