Recently, the Delhi High Court denied permission for a 25-year-old unmarried woman to medically terminate a 23-week pregnancy, while the Supreme Court later allowed the abortion within 24 weeks. This decision raises significant questions about the rights of unmarried women under Indian abortion laws, particularly the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
Abortion refers to the termination of a pregnancy before the fetus reaches viability, generally around the 20th week of pregnancy. Abortions can be spontaneous (miscarriages) or induced. In India, the MTP Act was passed in 1971, making it one of the early adopters of legalized abortion, two years before the United States legalized it through Roe v. Wade in 1973. The MTP Act allowed for the termination of certain pregnancies by registered medical practitioners under specific conditions.
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