In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday gave verdict that all women are entitled to safe and legal abortion and that the distinction between married and unmarried women in this matter is unconstitutional.
“All women are entitled to safe and legal abortion”, the Court said noting that the 2021 amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act does not make a distinction between married and unmarried women.
The Apex court said, unmarried women are also entitled to seek abortion of pregnancy in the term of 20-24 weeks arising out of a consensual relationship.
All women, married or unmarried, entitled to safe and legal abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy: SC
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 29, 2022
A three-judge bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, A.S. Bopanna and J.B. Pardiwala, headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also ruled that under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, the definition of rape must include marital rape. The Bench had reserved judgment in the case on 23rd of August.
The Apex Court ruled that a woman’s marital status cannot be used to deny her the right to abortion, while also ruling that unmarried women have the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy within 24 weeks.
The court said depriving single or unmarried women of the right to abort an unwanted pregnancy is a violation of fundamental rights.
The case arose when a 25-year-old unmarried woman approached the Delhi High Court seeking termination of her pregnancy at 23 weeks and 5 days, stating that her pregnancy arose out of a consensual relationship.
Nevertheless, she could not give birth to the child as she was an unmarried woman and her partner had refused to marry her.
However, a division bench of Delhi High Court comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad denied interim relief to her. The High Court observed that unmarried women, whose pregnancy arose out of a consensual relationship, was not covered by any of the Clauses under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules, 2003.
Later, she approached the SC, on 21st July, 2022 passed an ad-interim order allowing her to abort her pregnancy subject to a medical board constituted by the AIIMS Delhi concluding that the fetus could be aborted without risk to the life of the woman.