Among the various women issues, abortion today is the subject of much debate and controversies all over the world. This includes, the questions like morality, infanticide, ethics, religious beliefs and women rights. Today, some 60 to 75 million abortions occur every year throughout the world, up to half of them illegal and dangerous, killing about half a million women annually. Apart from this, at least 500 million women around the world are placed at the risk of repeated pregnancies with serious health problems.
Abortion continuous to be completely illegal or severely restricted by law in almost all countries. Whether and to what extent abortions should be permitted, encouraged, restricted is a social issue. Various women activists in the world have different opinions on this aspect.
Today in most of the Nations abortions are permitted for reasons that fall into 4 categories namely :
a) to preserve the life or physical or mental well-being of the mother;
b) to prevent the completion of a pregnancy that has resulted from rape;
c) to prevent the birth of a child with serious deformity, mental, deficiency or genetic abnormality; or
d) to exercise birth control, that is to help from having a child for social or economic reasons.
It is learnt that, some countries in several parts of the world have adopted more liberal laws that allows abortion when requested the concerned woman. Austria, Canada, China, Cuba, Denmark and South Africa are among such countries that have laws which permit abortion on demand. Abortion on demand can usually be performed without the approval of authorities if asked within a given duration, usually 12 weeks.
WHAT IS ABORTION ?:
The premature expulsion of a human foetus, whether spontaneous, or artificially induced is called abortion. When abortion is spontaneous without interference it called miscarriage. When abortion is induced, it is called Medical Termination of Pregnancy. The term is used only when termination of pregnancy occurs before the foetus becomes viable (capable of living independently).
Miscarriages: Miscarriage is spontaneous. Most occur at home with excessive bleeding, but with little danger to the mother. However, sometimes incomplete emptying of the uterus requires hospitalization, for the surgeon to gently extract the rotting remnants of placenta from the inside walls of the womb.
Access to MTP: ¾ of all women in the world have access to Medical Termination of Pregnancy on demand. This frees the couples from the stress of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. The reason – due to physical, financial or emotional reasons.
WHETHER WOMEN CAN MAKE A UNILATERAL DECISION FOR ABORTION ?:
Generally, termination of pregnancy after 12 weeks of age is not permitted any where in the world except for some reasons. A woman cannot take unilateral decision to terminate her pregnancy without informing to her husband. Husband is the legal person and without his consent the process may not materialise. In a decision making process husband's intention and sentiment makes vital to come to a conclusion over the issue.
A wife to whom the pregnancy has become a traumatic experience might not be healthy state of mind or in the best of her senses to use colloquial expressions to make a rational decision as to whether the pregnancy be terminated or not. The interventions of the spouse who after all in most cases is the person who is best familiar with the wife's condition, problems and aspirations, could be a very useful input in the decision making process as regards her own decision as well as that of the two doctors who have to give the green signal for the termination to be proceeded with. The presence of the husband could add a significant dimension to the issues which have to be taken cognizance of in arriving at a final decision. Though from a moral perspective there is much to be said for ascertaining the husband's views. A procedure which makes it compulsory for his consent to be obtained.
The requirement of spousal consent is an additional administrative responsibility for the doctor. If penal sanction is to be attached to a doctor who fails to obtain spousal consent or who negligently obtains the consent of someone who is not in fact the legal person (spouse).
If a husband demands that his wife should have an abortion, it is advised that to leave the decision solely up to her, he would not have the right to make such a demand.
WOMEN AND ABORTION RIGHTS:
It is a fundamental principle of a free society that those who will be affected by the actions and decisions of others ought to have a voice in the making of those decisions. If a woman ought not in justice, be forced to have an unwanted child. Women activists see forced pregnancy as a modified form of servitude, in which the body of a woman is owned by others for sexual and reproductive purposes.
A few women, may argue like this – Pregnancy is not an advantageous status but a burden which she has to bear for many months if she is forced to bear the child. Once the child is born the new roles and responsibilities of irrevocable nature are attached with the woman as a mother.
The vast majority of Governments world wide theoretically recognise abortion right. Abortion should be available for women, but the right to have an abortion is a matter of individual conscience and conscious choice of women.
It is also important that anti-abortion Christian group and many Islamic nations denied right to abortion. The Vatican reiterated that abortion in any form is sinful. According to Islam, after a foetus was completely formed and given soul, abortion was "harm" (for bidden).
There is another view that the basic part of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly deals with right to life which also includes unborn child. Women by nature possess a right to have a child. She should not be deprived of such a natural right just by a statute or law. When a woman has liberty to conceive, it implies liberty to terminate the pregnancy if she dislikes continuing it, which in turn leads to a new right to kill the foetus. There involved many questions of values on moral, ethical, sociological and legal aspects. If the rights are misused the well being of woman and unborn child will definitely create critical problems.
K.V. RAMANA MURTHY
ramanamurty9967@yahoo.co.in