DNA Edit: The right to abort must lie with the woman

The Supreme Court order allowing a 23-year-old Mumbai woman to abort a 24-week-old abnormal foetus reveals the infirmity in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act which forbids abortions when the length of pregnancy exceeds 20 weeks. Last month, doctors in Mumbai had turned down her request for abortion as her pregnancy had crossed 20 weeks, forcing the woman to approach the courts. Now it turns out that the medical opinion submitted to the apex court said that the foetus had no chance of survival and it endangered the life of the pregnant woman. Now imagine the plight of a woman who does not have the resources to petition a court to allow abortion.

A clause in the MTP Act does allow abortion beyond 20 weeks where termination of pregnancy is ‘immediately necessary’ to save the life of the pregnant woman. However, there are several situations where the danger is not imminent, as in the present case, where the woman has made up her mind to abort but the doctors refuse to terminate the pregnancy. In July 2015, a 14-year-old rape victim, a minor, who wished to abort her 24-week-old foetus, was rejected by doctors and the Bombay High Court. This forced her to approach the Supreme Court which accepted her desire to abort on grounds of threat to her mental health, provided a medical team certified that the abortion would not put her life in danger.

The moot point is that the MTP Act does not allow a pregnant woman to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Even in an unwanted pregnancy, a woman will require a doctor to certify that not terminating the pregnancy will cause “grave injury to the physical and mental health of the woman”, or that there is substantial risk of foetal abnormalities. The decision on reproductive choices should lie with the woman if there is no threat to her life. Denying women the agency to choose has split the abortion debate into pro-choice and pro-life camps. The rationale for the 20 week cap has also come into question. The United Kingdom allows abortion up to 24 weeks, and prescribes some specific situations, including mental health of the pregnant woman, to allow abortions after 24 weeks.. 

In India, the MTP Act was necessitated by practices like female foeticide. While the MTP Act has not curbed female foeticide, it made it more difficult for a woman to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. The MTP Act must be amended to allow abortion when doctors are certain that it will not harm the pregant woman’s life. Forcing pregnant women to run to courts is inhuman, an inaccessible option for women in lower income groups and a matter best left to the women themselves and doctors, rather than courts.