A Review: On Abortion

Abstract

Abortion till date has been one of the most controversial matters in the arena of biomedical ethics. It is a subject that has been heavily discussed around the world and holds extremely divergent opinions as far its legality is concerned. The question surrounding this matter is whether it falls under the purview of the Indian Constitution or has it failed to meet the criteria of being recognized as a fundamental right. In the Indian Penal Code, 1860, abortion, which is stated as “Causing Miscarriage” is considered as a punitive offence. It pertains to a ‘woman who causes herself to miscarry’. Among many other rights that women have been granted in India, Right to Abortion must be given as equal weight as the Right to conceive a child and get pregnant. The Right to Abortion certainly falls under the purview of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution as does the Right to live with dignity and make free choices unless they interfere with the current procedure of law. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution ensures that every person within the national territory of the Indian nation is guaranteed with the Right to life and Personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. In the case of abortion, the woman equally enjoys the Right to life and make free choices upon what she wants to do with her body, as any other citizen of India. Moreover, subscribing to a major scientific belief, a foetus isn’t an actual human being. It has a potential of being a human being but it actually isn’t. Bringing into picture J.S. Mill’s element in his ‘Essay on Liberty’, abortion, is however, a self-regarding action. Women like unaware teenagers, sex workers, the ones who’re carrying babies with abnormalities or women whose contraceptive methods took a wrong turn are the main target groups in this area. Abortion has to be legalised under the Indian Constitution for these specific groups. This paper is an attempt to look into various reasons why abortion should be given legal recognition in India and a comparative analysis of abortion laws in various countries. The aim is to prove that the Right to Abortion falls under the purview of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Abortion has been looked at through the standpoint of Human Rights.