The Supreme Court on 29/09/22 declared that unmarried women are also entitled to seek abortion of pregnancy within 20-24 weeks arising out of a consensual relationship.
The Court ruled that excluding unmarried women who conceive out of live-in relationships from the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules is unconstitutional.
"All women are entitled to safe and legal abortion, " the Court noted that the 2021 amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act does not distinguish between married and unmarried women.
The issue relates to whether the exclusion of unmarried women, whose pregnancy arises out of a consensual relationship, from Rule 3B of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules is valid. Rule 3B mentions the categories of women whose pregnancy in the duration of 20-24 weeks can be terminated.
The distinction between married and unmarried women is unsustainable
"If Rule 3B(c) is understood as only for married women, it would perpetuate the stereotype that only married women indulge in sexual activities. This is not constitutionally sustainable. The artificial distinction between married and unmarried women cannot be sustained. Women must have the autonomy to have free exercise of these rights", Justice Chandrachud, the presiding judge of the bench, read out the excerpts of the judgment.
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