The supreme court of the country has given a landmark ruling that all married and unmarried women in India can have an abortion safely.
The Supreme Court announced the verdict on Thursday. News NDTV.
Unmarried women can have an unwanted abortion between 20 and 24 weeks. Basically, the court has ruled on whether unmarried women can get an abortion if they are pregnant.
In the verdict, the Supreme Court said, the right to abortion given to married women in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, will also be available to unmarried women.
The apex court also said that the amendment brought in the Act in 2021 did not make any distinction between married and unmarried persons in the case of abortion. As a result, all women will have the right to safe and legal abortion.
On the other hand, the court has commented on abortion as ‘marital rape’ and ‘rape’.
In this context, Justice Chandrachud said, married women can also be victims of sexual harassment or rape. A woman can become pregnant by her husband’s behavior without consent.
Incidentally, ‘marital rape’ is not considered a legal offense in India.
(September 29)