What is Roe v. Wade, which the US Supreme Court has overturned — and why is it significant?

June 25, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN Topics

What is Roe v. Wade, which the US Supreme Court has overturned — and why is it significant?

Subject :Polity

Section :Rights

Context: The landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade judgment that legalised abortion in the US has been struck down by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority

What is the position on abortion in India?

Medical Termination of Pregnancy act, 1971:

Abortion is legal in India. The MTP Act, more commonly known as the Medical Termination of Pregnancy act, was enacted in 1971, mainly as a means to control the population
Initially, the MTP act said that abortion can be permitted up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
It also stipulated that the procedure can be carried out only by a registered medical practitioner
Through an amendment in 2021, the ceiling for abortions was raised to 24 weeks, but only for special categories of pregnant women such as rape or incest survivors, that too, with the approval of two registered doctors
In case of foetal disability, there is no limit to the timeline for abortion, but that is allowed by a medical board of specialist doctors set up by the governments of states and union territories

Who is eligible to avail of an abortion?

A woman can undergo an abortion if the pregnancy is the result of incest or rape
Major deformations in the fetus can also be grounds to medically terminate a pregnancy
Other reasons can be the abortion is a result of failed contraception
A woman can also avail of an abortion if the continuation of the pregnancy can cause grave injury to the physical or mental health of the mother
An abortion can also be availed in case of a miscarriage i.e. if the baby is dead inside
An unmarried woman too can avail of abortion in India
In case the woman is under 18, “a case should be registered under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) act to abort
In the case of a minor getting an abortion, “the guardian’s signature would be needed to attest the age of the woman