This is a statement by the Safe Abortion Advocacy Initiative Global South Engagement (SAIGE) regarding the India Supreme Court ruling on abortion rights. Download the full statement here.
India’s top court has ruled all women have right to abortion! SAIGE and ARROW welcomes the judgement. India’s apex court in a judgement on Thursday 29th September 2022 ruled that “Abortion rights in India are no longer tied to marital status and that all women should have the “reproductive autonomy” to terminate pregnancies.” This is a major win for the reproductive rights in India and globally and is seen as a first step on the road to reproductive justice. The judgement has come at a time when we are seeing a backlash to reproductive rights globally, the recent over turn of Roe-vs-Wade being one example and a is a reminder that right to safe abortion and bodily autonomy are human rights.
Since 1971, India’s Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act had limited abortion rights to married women, divorcees, widows, minors, “disabled and mentally ill women,” and survivors of sexual assault or rape. Marital rape was not been considered a legal ground for termination until Thursday’s ruling. “The decision to have or not to have an abortion is borne out of complicated life circumstances, which only the woman can choose on her own terms without external interference or influence,” the court ruling said.
The judgement expands access to safe abortion, the SC ruling recognises marital rape as grounds for abortion. It also stated that the judgment applies not just to cisgender women, but to all persons who require access to safe abortions. The ruling further recognises minors as a vulnerable category and seeks to make services more accessible to them. The Protection of Children from Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, Section 19 of the Act requires any person aware of a minor engaging in sex to report the matter to the local police even if it was a consensual act as the law pegs the age of consent at 18 years. This mandatory reporting is no longer required for abortion under the new judgement thus safeguarding confidentiality and access to safe abortion for minors.
The judgement has been hailed as one of the most progressive judgements so far, however, it needs to be reminded that the court could not address the larger issue of criminalization of abortion. Nevertheless, “by placing reproductive decisions within constitutional rights to dignity, autonomy, privacy, and health, and interpreting the provisions of the Act in light of these values, the decision has provided legal armour for many pending cases on reproductive justice in India, including challenges to the constitutionality of the MTP Act, the Surrogacy Act, the Assisted Reproductive Techniques Act, and the marital rape exemption, amongst others.[i]
We celebrate the efforts of the reproductive rights activists in India. Right to safe abortion and bodily autonomy are a human right and all governments must ensure that women, girls and pregnant persons are never denied of this right!
[i] https://article-14.com/post/an-important-first-step-on-the-road-to-reproductive-justice-but-safe-abortion-remains-out-of-reach-63383eddf1325