From Policy To Practice: Reproductive Rights In India

Anshika Gandhi, The Law School, University of Jammu

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will" - Charlotte Brontë

When we speak of the reproductive rights guaranteed to women in India, we talk about a wide range of issues, challenges, and solutions pertaining to women and unborn child. According to the Puttaswamy ruling, it covers elements like reproductive autonomy as a basic right enshrined in Article 21. The judiciary of india has always striked for a balance between the rights of women and unborn child. Women are covered and given protection from child marriage and domestic abuse. Along with sex education in schools and the use of contraception, it also grants judicial recognition to the term "marital rape" for the purpose of an individual. the right to receive reproductive health treatments, the right to plan a family, and the right to end a pregnancy. Choosing between the rights of an unborn child and a mother who bears the obligation to care for the child while it is still in the womb, as well as the mother's bodily autonomy, can be a very emotional and complex process. However, the Indian Supreme Court has proved to the world that it is capable of bridging this gap. On September 29, 2022, The Supreme Court of India recently denied permission to terminate a 26-week pregnancy for a married woman under the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971. The case involved a 27-year-old married woman who sought legal permission to terminate her pregnancy due to her physical, emotional, mental, financial, and medical inability to carry, deliver, or raise another child. The court's decision is grounded in the interpretation of Section 5 of the MTP Act, which allows abortion only if the woman's life and health are in immediate danger. The three-judge Bench, led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI), emphasized that a woman cannot claim an "absolute, overriding right" to abort, particularly when medical reports confirm that the pregnancy doesn't pose immediate danger to her life or that of the foetus. The government argues that the woman's reproductive autonomy cannot infringe upon the rights of her unborn child, and refers to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act of 2021