: 5 Landmark Abortion Judgements Where Indian Courts Kept Women’s Rights Above All #IndiaNEWS #Health Care On Friday, June 24, the United States Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade

5 Landmark Abortion Judgements Where Indian Courts Kept Women’s Rights Above All #IndiaNEWS #Health Care
On Friday, June 24, the United States Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade judgement, which had protected the rights of women across the country to access safe abortions for the last 50 years. With this, millions across the US now lose their right to choose and get abortions.
Massive protests broke out across the country after the ruling, with many leaders, including President Joe Biden, criticising the decision and calling it a “tragic error, cruel�?, and saying it takes America back 150 years.
Closer home, the news stirred up discourse surrounding abortion rights and accessibility.
In India, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 1971 was passed to provide abortion rights.
Abortion was legalised in India in 1972
According to Firstpost, this was done on the basis of a report submitted by the Shantilal Shah Committee.
The MTP Act was amended in 2021, wherein the gestation period for abortions was increased from 20 to 24 weeks for rape survivors, victims of incest, minors, and the disabled. As per the amendment, there is no upper limit for abortion if the foetus has substantial abnormalities. These have to be certified by a Medical Board.
While the amendments are a step forward, the law still fails to provide full rights to women. As Suchitra Dalvie, gynaecologist and coordinator for Asia Safe Abortion Partnership (ASAP), a pan-Asia network for safe abortion advocacy, told IndiaSpend, “To me, the provisions (of MTP Amendment Act 2021) are progressive in a paternalistic, victimhood kind of way. �?
Moreover, even with conducive laws, accessibility to abortion is a major issue in India.

In light of this devastating blow to abortion rights, people are going to talk a lot about Indias seemingly progressive abortion law. But how progressive it is really? How many people can actually access safe and legal abortions? A thread.
— Ketaki Desai (@notketakidesai) June 25, 2022
As per a report by The Wire, India has one government doctor for every 10,189 people, and there is a severe shortage of qualified medical professionals, which puts a burden on how easily and safely a woman can get an abortion. Added to this is the social stigma surrounding the act.
Even with these gaps and such stringent laws, there have been instances where the Indian Judiciary has upheld a woman’s right to choose in several instances.
Here are five landmark judgements that show how:
1. April 2020: Kerala HC allowed abortion for a 14-year-old rape survivor who was 24 weeks pregnant.
As per Live Law, the Division Bench observed that the “right to make reproductive choices is a facet of personal liberty under Article 21. The said choice would extend to deciding whether or not to carry her pregnancy to its full term.