My Body, My Choice

Lack of awareness and facilities, an old law and corrosive taboo are the bane of women seeking abortion. Now, even failsafe MA pills are being held back.

- Lola Nayar

Kavitha, 32, who has a clinically depressed mother to look after, did not want to have a second child and for weeks sought medical termination of her pregnancy. She knew about the MA (medical abortion) pill, having used it when she conceived within a year of having her first child. As she had her husband’s support then, doctors heeded her request, but this time around nobody was willing to listen, despite her not being mentally prepared to have another child. In another case last year, a woman caught in an abusive marriage was denied the right to have an abortion as the judge felt it amounted to ‘murder’. In 2017, a 13-year-old rape victim was denied relief due to red-tapism. After the pregnancy crossed 20 weeks, doctors advised against abortion, deeming it risky for the victim.

For a government that waxes eloquent about empowerment of women, it is time it refocused on the need for better family healthcare, particularly leg­alities over abortion. It is ironic that in an age when live­in relationships are not uncommon and news of sexual ass­aults clogs the media daily, the law does not recognise the need of both married and unmarried women to have equal access to safe abortion.

“If you look at accessibility, it is a big issue largely because of the way the MTP Act (Medical Termi­nation of Pregnancy Act, 1971) defines who can provide legal and safe abortion services and the place where it can be provided. Often, when a woman seeks abortion, service providers have their own ideas of what is right and what is not,” says V.S. Chandrashekar, CEO, FRHS India, and CAG member, Pratigya Campaign for Gender Equality and Safe Abortion. “While the law permits a married woman to seek abortion due to contraception fail­ure, if an unmarried woman seeks the same, legally the abor­tion option is not off­ered to her. That is one big challenge in the law.”