Supreme Court’s marks historical judgement on Abortion: Here are the keynote from the verdict

The Supreme Court verdict on Thursday made the historical judgement on Abortion. The court verdict based on the Manipur native vs Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, is one of the most progressive verdicts in the recent history of the judiciary in India. It will set a base for many litigations in the future, including the ongoing plea on marital rape.

The petitioner is a Manipur native, she approached SC after the high court declined her plea for medical termination of pregnancy evolved from an unmarried consensual relationship. It was an interim order. While doctors analysed the situation of pregnancy, the case was transferred to SC for interpretation of certain clauses of the MTP Act. SC delivered the verdict on Thursday.

Here are the top comments from the order of Justices DY Chandrachud, A S Bopanna and J B Pardiwala that you should not miss.

1. “Before we embark upon a discussion on the law and its application, it must be mentioned that we use the term “woman” in this judgment as including persons other than cis-gender [sex assigned at birth] women who may require access to safe medical termination of their pregnancies”

2. “We are of the opinion that significant reliance ought to be placed on each woman’s own estimation of whether she is in a position to continue and carry to term her pregnancy.”

3. “In some situations, unmarried women face particular barriers [to seek proper abortion methods] due to gender stereotypes about women’s sexual autonomy outside marriage”

4. The MTP Act is a provider-centric law. Since women’s right to access abortion is conditional on the approval by an RMP [Registered Medical Practitioner], the denial of services by an RMP compels women to approach courts or seek abortions in unsafe conditions.

5. It is only the woman’s consent (or her guardian’s consent if she is minor or mentally ill) which is material.”

6. “The social stigma that women face for engaging in pre-marital sexual relations prevents them from realizing their right to reproductive health in a variety of ways.”

7. “While much of the law’s benefits were (and indeed are) rooted in the institution of marriage, the law in modern times is shedding the notion that marriage is a precondition to the rights of individuals (alone or in relation to one another).

8. The expression “mental health” has a wide connotation and means much more than the absence of mental impairment or a mental illness.

9. “The determination of the status of one’s mental health is located in one’s self and experiences within one’s environment and social context.”

10. “Mental health and mental illness, although sound similar, are not the same.”

11. “Married women may also form part of the class of survivors of sexual assault or rape. The ordinary meaning of the word ‘rape’ is sexual intercourse with a person, without their consent or against their will, regardless of whether such forced intercourse occurs in the context of matrimony.