Artificial distinction between married, unmarried women on MTP Act unsustainable, all women entitled to safe, legal abortion: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday termed the exclusion of unmarried women who conceive out of live-in relationship from the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules as unconstitutional and said all women were entitled to safe and legal abortion.

The Bench of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice J.B. Pardiwala held that the 2021 amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act did not make a distinction between married and unmarried women.

The matter was related to the question whether the exclusion of unmarried women, whose pregnancy arise out of consensual relationship, from Rule 3B of the Medical Termination Rules, was valid.

Rule 3B mentions the categories of women whose pregnancy in the duration of 20-24 weeks can be terminated.

As per the Court, if Rule 3B(c) was understood as only for married women, it would perpetuate the stereotype that only married women indulged in sexual activities, which was not constitutionally sustainable.

Reading out the excerpts from the judgement, Justice Chandrachud said that artificial distinction between married and unmarried women could not be sustained and the women must have the autonomy to have free exercise of these rights.

He equated the rights of reproductive autonomy for all women and said the object of Section 3(2)(b) of the MTP Act was to allow women to undergo abortion after 20-24 weeks.

Including only married and excluding unmarried women from the same would amount to violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, added Justice Chandrachud.

The top court of the country ruled that since the foetus relied on the woman’s body to sustain, the decision to terminate was firmly rooted in their right of bodily autonomy. If the State forced a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to the full term, it would amount to an affront to her dignity, it noted.

Earlier on August 23, the Bench of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice J.B. Pardiwala had reserved verdict in the case.

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