Reproductive Rights in India: A brief study

By Urvashi Malav

Abstract 

This essay explores various reproductive rights. On the spectrum lies “the right to abortion”. Tracing the trails of the legislation, the struggles and campaigns for the same, and the social and religious dilemmas, this essay delves to find the status of Abortion rights of women in India. At last, we will also check the progress through the challenges which have remained and continue to be in the very process of achieving the very fundamental right. 

Reproductive rights

Reproductive rights refer to those rights of individuals which give them liberty regarding sexual and reproductive matters. This may include the right to plan a family, abortion, use of contraception, sterilization and access to reproductive health services. While reproductive rights help in achieving population, health, and development goals, they are also important in themselves as human rights which aim to protect the inherent dignity of the individual. Reproductive rights are mainly divided into three categories: (1) rights to reproductive self-determination, (2) rights to sexual and reproductive health services, information, and education, and (3) rights to equality and non-discrimination. The status of these rights varies from country to country. India’s evolution in terms of the former two rights are simultaneous while the last one came with the judgement of 2022. 

Legislations for the rights

Abortion was illegal in India until the 1960s, under Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. In the mid-1960s the government set up the Shantilal Shah Committee to enquire whether India needed a law to regulate abortions. As per the committee’s recommendations, a medical termination bill was passed by the Parliament in August 1971. The policymakers deliberately decided the title to impart medical reasoning for the law and avoid any religious or ethical objections. Initially, the law permitted abortion up to 20 weeks. The act was subsequently amended in 2002 to allow the use of the then-new medical abortion pill, and in 2021 to raise the ceiling for abortions to 24 weeks for special categories of pregnant women including rape or incest survivors.

However, critics argue that historically, reproductive health-related laws and policies in India have failed to take a women's rights-based approach, instead focusing on demographic targets, such as population control, while also implicitly or explicitly undermining women's reproductive autonomy through discriminatory provisions such as spousal consent requirements for access to reproductive health services. 

In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) vs. the Union Of India And Others (2017), the court honoured the constitutional right of women to make reproductive choices, as a part of personal liberty under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which, despite laying a robust jurisprudence on reproductive rights and the sequestration of a woman, doesn’t translate into a fundamental shift in power from the doctor to the woman seeking a revocation. 

In July 2022, the Supreme Court held that a woman’s right to reproductive choice is an inseparable part of her liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution, thus addressing the right to equality and prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of marital status, the realm of abortion rights was extended to the unmarried women. 

Challenges

There are still many hurdles to women’s complete access to their body’s autonomy. Societal Institutions like religions have imposed many restrictions especially when it comes to issues like abortion as we can see in the case of the United States. Many do not even recognise the question of women's rights as they stand debating on the moral, and ethical grounds of life. 

Adding to the social stigma, intersectionality of the women poses a multi-layered challenge just like the problem itself. Dalit women have 15 years less life expectancy than upper-caste women, on average. Even today, reproductive rights remain a remote luxury that many Dalit women cannot afford. In India, 67% of abortions are unsafe. The Indian Rural Health Statistics 2019-20 showed a 70% lack of obstetricians and gynaecologists in rural India, where 77% of the country’s Dalits live. Thus there is a long way to go to ensure the abortion rights of women. 

Conclusion

India’s legislation and the Judicial system have enabled its individuals to practice their rights. While access to safe abortions, the basic legislations in many developed countries remains a question, India has succeeded in providing the basic structure for the reproductive rights of women. Though there remain several challenges in the process due to problems like the cost of the service or intersectionality, there are also community-based initiatives like Ruwsec (Rural Women’s Social Education Centre) to overcome barriers to reproductive healthcare. Thus, India has travelled a long way in fighting the orthodox ideas of the conservatives and paved a progressive path for the rights of women in matters of their reproductive lives and sexuality.  

References

1. Staggenborg, S. (2001). Reproductive rights in affluent nations. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 13184–13188).

2. Deswal, Vagheshwari(2023). “Changing dimensions of law relating to abortion in India.” The Times Of India. 

3. Reporter, G. S. (2023, November 2). Feminists in India laud their abortion rights – but they don’t extend to Dalit women. The Guardian.

4. Indian Health Statistics Report 2019-20.