Right To Choice For A Woman In India?

Screen Grab: Theleaflet.in

The recent order by the Supreme Court of India recognising the right of an ‘unmarried woman’ to terminate (legally abort) a 24-week pregnancy reveals the undercurrent of the systemic changes slowly reshaping India.

In a historically conservative nation such as India that is rapidly transforming itself in thought, ideology and expression of freedom, topics that were once considered taboo are now being discussed (forcefully or subtly), and reflected upon by families, and when the top court passes such orders, some families (depending on their conditioning) start to reorient their historical understanding.

One such topic is abortion and its causes, nature and affects on woman. India is unfortunately associated with rife injustice, inequality and violence against women. Efforts have been made for decades to tackle such issues but even in the 21st century, rape is still rampant and the worrying aspect is that most of these cases go unreported or undetected. Most of these rape cases have a consequence in pregnancies which can literally destroy that woman’s life.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 of India legally allows the termination of a pregnancy under a series of medically related conditions. In a country where incidents of rape and unwanted pregnancies are common, this act - to a large extent- provides some relief for women. Besides rape as a causative source predominantly, medical abnormalities relating to the foetus and the woman have been a riding element for justifying this act, and hence the 'aptly' named Act.

But this recent order of the Supreme Court brings into the limelight ‘unmarried’ women, and the situations of accidental pregnancy with a ‘partner’ or pregnancy due to rape.

The question that we need to be asking is the definition & authentication of an unmarried woman in the circumstances of dealing with an unwanted or forced pregnancy. And moreover, its larger implications in the restructuring of society.

This order also ambiguously conveys a sort of ‘unspoken prejudice’ or ‘indirect permission’ under the wide ambit of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. Since the court can always use the subterfuge of rape, violence, foetal abnormalities and medical threat to the unmarried woman, the sanctioning of ‘unmarried’ women in seeking a legal abortion gets 'justified'.

But in a country where more than half the population live in rural areas, access to liberal ideologies that come with an urban tint are not so pervasive. In other words, the broad scope of an ‘unmarried’ woman in an urban setting versus one in a rural setting would have equally wide differences in interpretation in its ideological, societal, & cultural angles.

This does not underplay the unfortunate consequence that the unmarried (whether rural or urban) woman has to bear due to an unwanted or accidental pregnancy - excluding rape. But the question that we need to be asking is the definition & authentication of an 'unmarried' woman in the circumstances of dealing with an unwanted or forced pregnancy? And moreover, its larger implications in the restructuring of society.

While 'abortion' or 'termination' in the country is still a complicated system for a woman who chooses to go that route, the chances that an American style right to choice is certainly in the offing just looking at the way changes are taking place in society at the most base level.

If the current events of the world and the changes taking place are affecting you in many ways but you are indecisive and unable to take a stand, take the first step by believing that these events were already proclaimed in the Bible.

Your hope is in the living God who is in command and who sent His son - Jesus Christ to give you eternal life by dying for your sins. Believe in Him and be at peace and the Holy Spirit will give you wisdom to discern and decide.