Every day, some case or the other regarding medical pregnancy termination is heard in the Supreme Court. After all, what does the Supreme Court have to do with a woman's pregnancy? Hearings in the Supreme Court takes place when a woman's pregnancy exceeds 24 weeks because then human rights come to the fore. But what will happen to the rights of the woman who is pregnant? Most people are not aware of what kind of abortion rights there are in India and under which law they come.
What kind of abortion rights do women have in India and what are the rights of the unborn child? To understand this, we spoke to Preeti Singh, Advocate Partner at PS Law Advocates & Solicitors. Shee told us in detail about abortion rights.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act
In India, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP Act 1971) is considered legally valid in the case of abortion. In this Act, different types of rules and regulations have been mentioned under which pregnancy can be terminated. Before 2021, based on Section 3 (2) of the MTP Act, the facility to terminate pregnancy was given only up to 20 weeks. However, later the provision was changed and this period was increased to 24 weeks.
Even under this Act, no woman can terminate her pregnancy on her own without medical advice. For example, if medical termination is within 12 weeks, then the advice of one doctor would be given, and if the pregnancy has to be terminated between 12 to 20 weeks, then the advice of two doctors would be given.
However, by 2021, many such cases had come to light where the Supreme Court had permitted to terminate pregnancies of more than 20 weeks after medical advice. In such a situation, changes were made in this Act in 2021.
These are the rules for aborting pregnancy from 2021 onwards
Now if the mother wishes, pregnancy up to 20 weeks can be terminated on the advice of a doctor. With this, the facility to terminate pregnancy after 24 weeks is now legally available. However, termination of pregnancy above 20 weeks is permitted only in certain cases such as if a married woman has been abandoned by her husband, a woman has committed a sexual offence resulting in pregnancy, etc. It is better to take legal advice before terminating 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Initially, only married women were mentioned in this Act, but on 29 September 2022, it was decided that unmarried women should also have equal rights.
If you want to terminate pregnancy after more than 24 weeks?
There have been some cases in the country where the Supreme Court has permitted to termination of pregnancy. In such cases, decisions have been taken keeping in mind the fundamental rights of women. In most of the cases, such decisions have been taken keeping in mind the physical and mental health of the woman and the child.
Therefore, abortion laws in India have changed a lot since the beginning. Yes, the decision to terminate a pregnancy of less than 12 weeks can be taken on medical advice and is not considered a legal offence, but after 20 weeks, the fundamental rights of the child are also taken into consideration and hence Terminating pregnancy beyond this period is considered a crime. This is a crime not only for the mother but also for the doctor who helps in terminating the pregnancy.
