New Delhi: The Supreme Court has held that all women, irrespective of their marital status, are entitled to safe and legal abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, J.B. Pardiwala and A.S. Bopanna delivered the verdict on the interpretation of the MTP Act, and whether unmarried or single women can be “allowed” like their married counterparts the benefit of abortion up to 24 weeks.
The top court said the distinction between married and unmarried women under the abortion laws is “artificial and constitutionally unsustainable” and perpetuates the stereotype that only married woman are sexually active.
“Women must have autonomy to have free exercise of these rights,” Justice Chandrachud said, according to LiveLaw.
“If Rule 3B(c) [of the MTP Act] is understood as only for married women, it would perpetuate the stereotype that only married women indulge in sexual activities,” the court said.
The court also held that the rights of reproductive autonomy give an unmarried women similar rights as a married women, the news outlet has reported.
” The object of section 3(2)(b) of the MTP Act is in allowing woman to undergo abortion after 20-24 weeks. Therefore, including only married and excluding unmarried woman will be violative of Article 14 of the Constitution,” the court said.
The apex court also observed that reproductive right is part of individual autonomy and because the foetus relies on the woman’s body to sustain, “the decision to terminate is firmly rooted in their right of bodily autonomy.”
“If the state forces a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to the full term, it will amount to an affront to her dignity,” the bench said in the key judgment.
The bench, on August 23, had reserved its verdict on interpretation of the MTP Act provisions which makes a distinction between married and unmarried women on the issue of abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy.
This article was first published on The Wire.
Featured image: The Supreme Court of India. Photo: Pinakpani/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
(With PTI inputs)