Laws on Abortion
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VOLUME 3 ISSUE 3 MARCH 2020 ISSN:2456-9666 LAWS ON ABORTION -KANISHKA1, VAISHALI SHARMA2 & HEENA SHARMA3 Abstract Many people are very concerned with the children in India, with the children in Africa where quite a number die, may be of malnutrition, of hunger and so on, but millions are dying deliberately by the will of the mother. And this is what the greatest destroyer of peace is today. Because if a mother can kill her own child- what is left for me to kill you and you kill me- there is nothing between- Mother Teresa, Nobel lecture, Dec 11, 1979 As part of the increasingly open discussion of sexual matters in our society. New public attention has been also focused on abortion. In all over the world there is lack of access to safe abortion case. There are many reasons of abortions sometimes there is inability to afford a child, due to domestic violence women loses her child as well as her life because it is very risky to the life of the women and in some situations there is lack of support of husband and women’s also not interested to become mother because she was feeling that they are too young and in feeding to child it effects on her health. Sometimes she wants to complete her education and advance a career and in that situation also get rid of unwanted pregnancy. In cases of rape victims court also ordered to surgeons for doing abortion. In India the main reason of abortion is boy child preference with the help of sex determination (ultrasound) it is find out the child in the mother womb a girl or boy, if girl in that case abortion is done. Over 70.000 women in a year has died due to unsafe Abortion. So, here we discuss different countries laws and points of view on Abortion. 1 Student, FIMT, GGSIPU, NEW DELHI 2 Student, FIMT, GGSIPU, NEW DELHI 3 Student, FIMT, GGSIPU,NEW DELHI JUSIMPERATOR www.jusimperator.org Page 1 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 3 MARCH 2020 ISSN:2456-9666 Introduction The word abortion has been derived from Latin term ‘abortus’ means an object which has been detached from its proper site. Abortion is said to occur when the life of the fetus or embryo is destroyed in the woman’s womb or the pregnant uterus empties prematurely before the fetus has attained the stage of viability. Abortion is a very painful topic for a woman and men who find themselves facing the moral dilemma of whether to terminate a pregnancy.4 It is also considered morally wrong because a life of a child is not decided by the parents, doctor’s etc. (Birth and death are in the hand of the God) but due to the mistake of parents it is suffered by an unborn child who not seen this world. Abortion is not an easy task for the parents especially women because a mother has special kind of attachment with their children she feels all the stages and moving of a child in her womb. Abortion is a way for a man to have sex with women without taking responsibility for any resulting children by getting the women to risk their lives in dangerous operation in order to prevent the child being born.5When pregnancy is terminated after the prescribed legal period it is called feticide and when it is terminated before time it is termed as Abortion. Definition of Abortion The term abortion refers to the deliberate medical termination of pregnancy which was done by two ways. In medicine, an abortion is a loss of pregnancy due to the premature exit of the products of conception (the fetus, fetal membranes, and placenta) from the uterus due to any cause. An abortion may occur spontaneously (termed a miscarriage) or may be medically induced.6 Medical Abortion – a woman who are less than seven weeks pregnant can undergo in medical abortion. It is a non- surgical method and must be done under the supervision of a physician. It is done with the help of pills and Medications. Surgical Abortion – if a woman wishes to undergo an abortion beyond seven weeks of gestation, then perform surgical Abortion. These are much more effective than a medical Abortion with lower risk of an incomplete procedure. 4 www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/legal/introduction_1.shtml 5 www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/mother/against_1.shtmt 6 https:/www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articleskey=2091 JUSIMPERATOR www.jusimperator.org Page 2 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 3 MARCH 2020 ISSN:2456-9666 History Abortion was legally restricted by every country at the end of 19th century. The following countries Britain, Portugal, Spain and Italy which imposed their own rules on abortion. According to UN Population division’s compressive website on Abortion laws, legal system under which abortion is legally restricted and it comes under 3 categories at the end the of 16th century. Common law - the UK and Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, India, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore etc. Civil law- it includes the rest of Europe, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, and turkey, Japan. Islamic law- it includes countries of North Africa and western as (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan.7 If we see in history, there are main three reasons of restrictions on abortion 1. Abortions were dangerous and abortionists were killing a lot of women hence the laws had a public health intention to protect women because it may cause danger to the life to the life of women in doing so.so, they still do today if they have no other choice. 2. Abortion was considered a sin or a form of transgression of morality and the law were intended to punish and act as a determent. 3. Abortion was restricted to protect fetus life in some or all circumstances.8 Efforts were made to change abortion laws and practice since 1920 Soviet Union was the 1st country who reform their laws on abortion. This was initiated by feminist Alexander Kollontai, through a decree on women’s health care in October 1920. After, that the change were done in abortion law reform. It main focuses on On public health and human rights grounds To remote smaller familiar of population and environment reasons 7 http:/www.in.org/en/development/desa/population/publication/abortiuon/abortion/abortion –policies - 2002.shtml. 8 www.habi.hlm.nin.govt/pmc/articles/PMC JUSIMPERATOR www.jusimperator.org Page 3 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 3 MARCH 2020 ISSN:2456-9666 Controlling fertility has become both technically feasible and acceptable in almost all cultures today. 100 years were passed away, of campaign of safe abortion the use of contraception has been completely decriminalized while abortion has done. Abortion is one of the safest Medical procedure if it is done as per who guidelines (World Health Organization) but when if it is unsafe it becomes also a cause of deaths. In WHO, 2004 Research it is also found that there are only six main grounds on which abortion is allowed in most countries. Grounds 1 risk to life Grounds 2 Rape or sexual offences Grounds 3 serious Fetal Anomaly Grounds 4 risk to physical and sometimes Mental Health Grounds 5 social and economic reason In global level 25% of pregnancies ended in induced in Abortion in 2010-2014 including in countries with high rate of controlling prevalence. Moreover, a Growing no. of Gov. in both the Global North and more recently the Global South have begun to Acknowledge that preventing unsafe Abortion is part of this Commitment to reducing Maternal Death and their Obligation Under (IHALL) International human Rights Law9 Abortion Laws in Different Countries. Some of them are discussed below. ABORTION IN INDIA In India abortion have been a subject of discussions and debate. In today’s scenario abortion of fetus is considered as a criminal and also morally wrong.10 These are the following Acts, which deals with the Abortion in India. Indian Penal Code - Till 1971 in India, provide provisions for abortion but it not directly provide provisions it talks about provisions of miscarriage under Sec 312 to 316.11 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act- It also known as abortion Act in India. It 9 ibid 10https://www.myAdvo.in/blog/is-Abortion-legal-in-india/Amp 11 Indian Penal Code, 1860 JUSIMPERATOR www.jusimperator.org Page 4 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 3 MARCH 2020 ISSN:2456-9666 deals with the provisions of Abortion laws in India. The act provides that Pregnancy is terminated a Pregnancy within 12 weeks and it is help of medical Practitioner if abortion done after 12 weeks in that case there is need of approval of two medical Practitioner. The approval is mandatory to make sure that Abortion taking place must be according to the laws in India12. Abortion is legal in India or not? Yes, abortion is legal under some circumstances and illegal in others. If a Person Seeking Abortion is an adult then, there is no need of Parental Or spousal Approval Of it. And in India there is no legal age for abortion, if Abortion is done within 12 weeks, then only consent of one medical practitioner is sufficient after that Consent of two is required.13 In what Conditions abortion is Taken Place in India. As per Abortion Assessment Project from 2000 to 2004, the studies says that 56%, Abortions were Unsafe. Statically 6.4 million Annual Abortion were done out of 3.6 million Abortion were unsafe due to that 13% maternal Death occur in country. 14 The killing of Female Feticide in Mother Womb In Abortion the killing of female feticide at a highest Rate.