The new interpretation could extend 20-week abortion time limit for unmarried women by four weeks.

Even though obtaining the pills is legal, many ‘abortion pills’ can be obtained from chemists or informal providers directly without a prescription. This leaves the women to conduct an unsafe abortion without accurate and reliable information about the administration of the pills or post-abortion care.

The bench ruled that the JJ Hospital doctors had failed to consider the teenager’s socio-economic condition and the effect the pregnancy could have on her mental health in the future.

The Bench headed by Justice G.S. Ahluwalia refused to permit the abortion. He said, “The petitioner is aged about 19 years, therefore, she is mature enough to realize the consequences of consensual sex without any precaution.”

SheThePeople reached out to two lawyers who have been litigating on MTP cases to understand the realities of the women who reach out to courts to access their right to abortion.

The bill allows for abortion even beyond a period of 24 weeks for foetuses that are “abnormal” that is the children that could be born with disabilities.

Abortions have been a singularly contentious issue that bring to fore the core issue of women having ownership of their own bodies and of rights related to their bodies. While debates for and against abortion allowance rage across the world, we look here at what the Indian abortion law says and the areas on which […]