What is India’s law on abortion, and why has a pregnant unmarried petitioner gone to Supreme Court in appeal?

What is India’s law on abortion, and why has a pregnant unmarried petitioner gone to Supreme Court in appeal?

Subject :Polity

Section: Judiciary

Context:

• A 25-year-old pregnant woman moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 19) seeking an abortion after the Delhi High Court declined her plea last week. The woman has also challenged Rule 3B of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules, 2003, which allows only some categories of women to seek termination of pregnancy between 20 and 24 weeks.

What is India’s law on abortion?

• Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860,criminalises voluntarily “causing miscarriage” even when the miscarriage is with the pregnant woman’s consent, except when the miscarriage is caused to save the woman’s life. This means that the woman herself, or anyone else including a medical practitioner, could be prosecuted for an abortion.

Key Provisions of the MTP Amendment Act, 2021:

• 1^st category – In 2021, Parliament amended the 1971 MTP law and allowed for a termination under the opinion of one doctor for pregnancies up to 20 weeks.
• 2^nd category – For pregnancies between 20 and 24 weeks, the amended law requires the opinion of two doctors.
• 3^rd category – Opinion of the State-level medical board is essential for a pregnancy to be terminated after 24 weeks in case of substantial foetal abnormalities.
• For the second category, the Rules specified seven categories of women who would be eligible for seeking termination. Section 3B of Rules prescribed under the MTP Act reads: “The following categories of women shall be considered eligible for termination of pregnancy under clause (b) of subsection (2) Section 3 of the Act, for a period of up to twenty-four weeks, namely:
  • survivors of sexual assault or rape or incest;minors;
  • change of marital status during the ongoing pregnancy (widowhood and divorce);
  • women with physical disabilities [major disability as per criteria laid down under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016
  • mentally ill women including mental retardation;
  • the foetal malformation that has substantial risk of being incompatible with life or if the child is born it may suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities to be seriously handicapped; and
  • women with pregnancy in humanitarian settings or disaster or emergency situations as may be declared by the Government.