How is the Abortion Law in India a step towards women empowerment?

           Abortion, in modern society, is considered a matter of choice for the woman, it is an essential part of women’s right to choose for themselves. It takes much importance in societies where conservative ideologies try to ‘control’ women’s bodies by dictating abortion rights. 

India was among the first countries to legalise abortion and also provide for safe abortion services. Abortion laws in India are considered very progressive and pro-women. To understand their role in women empowerment, let us briefly understand some basic provisions of the abortion laws in India. 

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 and Amendment Act of 2021 

It is the primary law that legalises abortion in India. The Amendment Act, 2021 provides for abortion on the opinion of one Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) for termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation; for aborting a pregnancy from 20 to 24 weeks opinion of two RMPs is needed; opinion of the State-level medical board is essential for a pregnancy to be terminated after 24 weeks in case of substantial foetal abnormalities 

Role in Women Empowerment 

1. Access to medical facilities: It is estimated that 15.6 million abortions take place in India every year and 10 women lose their lives to unsafe abortions every day. Safe abortion is matter of survival for women in India. 
2. Preventing ‘undue burden’ on women: As noted by the US Supreme Court, unwanted pregnancies pose an undue mental, economic and social burden on the woman. Unwanted pregnancies in girls affect their education and reduce opportunities for them.  
3. Women’s right over her body: Legalising abortion gives woman the power to decide for herself instead of State making decisions for her. 
4. Provision of consent in the Act: It ensures that woman would take an informed decision and any termination of pregnancy cannot be done without her explicit consent. 
5. Equality of treatment: Unmarried women too are provided with the same right as married women in case of abortion. Supreme Court recently, permitted an unmarried woman to terminate her pregnancy of beyond 20 weeks, diluting any difference between married and unmarried women in the Act.   
6. The Act allows abortion in case of pregnancy born out of rape or sexual assault. This protects survivors of sexual assault against bearing the cost of unwanted pregnancy.  
7. The Act also allows for termination of pregnancy in case of change of marital status: This provision recognises that raising a child is the responsibility of both parents and a mother should not bear the whole responsibility alone. Supreme Court has now allowed unmarried women to terminate pregnancy if their partners back out of the relationship.
8. The Act has replaced the term ‘husband, with ‘partner’ recognising which is in sync with the modern forms of relationships and families. 

Therefore, Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act seeks to empower women by enabling them to exercise bodily autonomy, economic freedom and their reproductive rights.