Extend the 24-week limit for abortion to all

Recently, a two-judge bench of the Delhi high court refused to allow a woman, who was in the 23rd week of her pregnancy, to abort her foetus. Later that week, the HC’s order was set aside by the Supreme Court, and the woman allowed to terminate the pregnancy, subject to a medical board decision on whether the abortion would endanger her life. These rules set out seven categories of women eligible for termination of pregnancy until 24 weeks, including survivors of sexual assault and minors However, the HC hearing — and the judicial observations — reveal certain deep-seated problems with the legal regime governing abortions in India. One of the categories specified is women who have had a “change in marital status during the ongoing pregnancy.” It is these rules that the judges appeared to be indicating towards, when they observed that the woman in question had been in a “consensual, unmarried relationship.” This raises the question, however, of why this distinction matters in the first place. The MTP Rules effectively make losing a husband the basis upon which a woman is entitled to the extended 24-week period, presumably because the additional burden involved justifies greater time to make the choice of whether to continue with a pregnancy or terminate it.