NEW DELHI: The court, in a historic judgement on abortion, removed the distinction between married and unmarried women, in the MTP Act and said even the latter can undergo abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy; extended the freedom to transpeople (in this case, biological women who identify as men) and minors; and said that the only person who needed to sign off on the abortion was the woman herself, obviating the need for consent from her family.
In its ruling, the court held that an "artificial distinction between married and single women is not constitutionally sustainable" since it is not only in direct conflict with a woman's reproductive rights but would also perpetuate the stereotype that only married women have sex.
Delivering the path-breaking verdict on the right to reproductive autonomy supported by the right to access safe and legal abortion, a bench headed by justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud also directed that the identity of a minor, who becomes pregnant after "consensual" sex, need not be disclosed by a medical practitioner to the police or in any criminal proceedings under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
Pocso obligates doctors to compulsorily inform the police when a minor approaches for abortion through her guardian since sex with a minor is a crime. The court said protection of a minor's identity on a request made by her or her guardian would strike a balance between the legal requirement to compulsorily inform the police about an offence under Pocso and the minor's rights of privacy and reproductive autonomy.
The court dwelled upon various aspects of the MTP Act and the corresponding rules to state that "the rights of reproductive autonomy, dignity, and privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution give an unmarried woman the right of choice on whether or not to bear a child, on a similar footing of a married woman".
This story is from the September 30, 2022 edition of Hindustan Times.
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This story is from the September 30, 2022 edition of Hindustan Times.
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