INTRODUCTION:
Abortion in medical terms means ending a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of a fetus before it can survive outside the womb. India is one among many countries that consider the social or economic circumstances of women to permit abortion.
When properly done, abortion is one of the safest procedures in medicine.But unsafe abortion is a major cause of maternal deaths, especially in the developing world.[1]
Abortion in India is legalized in certain circumstances. It can be performed on various grounds until 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Laws relating to abortion are in usage in India through the Indian Penal Code ,1860.
Prior to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act,1971 (MTP Act) abortion was criminalized under Section.312 of the Indian Penal Code,1860, describing it as intentionally “causing miscarriage”. The section provides that if a person voluntarily causes a woman with child to miscarry, shall, if such miscarriage is not caused in good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the woman, be punished with imprisonment of either,o description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both; and, if the woman be quick with child, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
EMERGENCE OF THE MTP ACT:
IMPORTANT PROVISIONS UNDER THE MTP ACT :
1. Continuation of pregnancy is a risk to the life of the pregnant women.
2. There is a substantial risk that the child if born would have serious physical or mental abnormalities.
3. Pregnancy is caused due to rape (which presumably causes mental injury to the women).
4. Pregnancy is caused due to failure of contraceptives used by a married woman or her husband.
Furthermore, for abortions within 12 weeks, the opinion of one doctor is needed while consultation with two doctors is required for the pregnancy period between 12-20 weeks.3 Termination of pregnancy is allowed beyond 20 weeks if such a termination in the opinion of the doctor is required to save her life.4 The Act specifies details like :
i. Who can terminate a pregnancy
ii. Till when a pregnancy can be terminated
Recently, the Lok Sabha passed The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020[4] (hereinafter, “Bill”) in March. It was deemed as a progressive step that seeks to empower Indian women and removes all obstacles for them to exercise the choice of abortion. Some existing provisions under the Act, appears problematic when analyzed. The permissible upper limit of 20 weeks for abortion done through permission of two medical practitioners is quite impossible in cases of victims of rape and sex trafficking, where unwanted pregnancies are detected only in the later stages. Also, such a process is cumbersome in areas which face a dearth of doctors, especially in the rural parts of the country.
Some major changes brought it by the Bill are :
- the upper permissible limit of abortion is increased to 24 weeks.5
- For abortion in the period between 12-20 weeks, the consultation of one doctor is required.
- it replaces the phrase ‘married woman and her husband’ with ‘women and her partner’ thereby addressing the discrimination against non-married women who also face unwanted pregnancies.6
This Bill is a step forward with regard to the abortion laws in India. It gives women a greater right and choice over their body and child birth. This amendment not only allows any woman irrespective of her marital status to seek an abortion but also protects her privacy by making it punishable to reveal her identity.7
ABORTION IN THE EYES OF RELIGION :
- HINDUISM : The roots of Hindu Medical ethics come from the practice of Ahimsa (Non-violence). When considering abortion, the Hindu way is to choose the action that will do least harm to all the persons involved: the mother, father, the foetus and the society.8Classic Hindu Texts are opposed to abortion and Hindus tend to support abortion only in cases where the mother’s life is at risk or when the fetus has severe abnormalities. In practice, sometimes abortion is carried out in Hindu culture where the religious ban on abortion is overruled by a cultural preference for sons rather than daughters. In recent times, Hindu scholars and women’s rights advocates have started to support bans on gender-selective abortions.
- CHRISTIANITY : There are varied views about abortion in Christianity. Various perspectives of the issue is being argued by different people. Some writers say that in spite of the silence of the New Testament book of the Christian Bible on the issue, the concept of abortion was considered a grave sin at any point of time. The Catholic Church believes that human life begins at conception, and each life must be respected duly. The Protestants have two different views wherein, conservative protestants believe in the concept of anti-abortion, whereas some Protestants lean towards the concept of abortion rights for women.
- ISLAM : Several Islamic thinkers contend that in cases prior to four months of gestation, abortion should be permissible only in instances in which the mother’s life is in danger or in cases of rape.Some schools permit abortion during the first 16 weeks and some at 7 weeks. It is believed that longer the pregnancy, the greater the wrong. The Quran also states that poverty should not be a cause for fear of abortion.9 In total, all schools accept abortion as a way to save the mother’s life, if at risk.
- BUDDHISM : There is no particular view regarding abortion. It is in general considered negative. It is said that a monk can be expelled for assisting a woman in procuring abortion. The Dalai Lama views abortion as a negative practice and said that there can be some exceptions to it and approving or disapproving it is based on the circumstance.
- SIKHISM : Sikhism does not directly deal with the concept of abortion. But it explicitly prohibits ‘kuri-mar’ which means’girl killer’ referring to female infanticide.10The Guru Granth Sahib or the Sikh Rehat Maryada do not prohibit abortion explicitly. But the practice is viewed as forbidden by many Sikhs because it is said to interfere with the creative work of God.
Good article! Covers legal and social aspects of abortion!
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Thanks for the information in New MTP bill
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