International Safe Abortion Day 2022: Safe Abortion - Basic Human Right

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Abortion is a medical procedure that terminates a pregnancy. It is a fundamental healthcare requirement for millions of women who become pregnant. It is estimated that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in abortion yearly. According to the United Nations Population Funds' State of the World Population Report 2022, abortion is the third leading cause of maternal deaths and preventable disabilities worldwide. While the need for abortion is a necessity, access to safe and legal abortion services is far from guaranteed to those who need them.

Recently, a controversial new law has come into force in Hungary, which makes it mandatory for women seeking an abortion to listen to their unborn child's heartbeat before going ahead with it. Similarly, the Roe Vs Wade judgment, which enabled countless women in the USA to access safe abortions, was recently overturned by US Supreme Court. Over the last 25 years, more than 50 countries have changed their laws to allow for greater access to abortion. While developing countries like India are expanding their abortion laws to make it more inclusive for single mothers, other countries like the USA are moving decades backwards by overturning the law which provided pregnant women and others who can get pregnant the constitutional right to access safe and legal abortions.

Pratigya Campaign for Gender equality and Safe abortion came together and discussed the current abortion scenario in India for an upcoming moment of International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September 2022.

Debanjana Choudhuri, gender specialist, said, "There is a need to be holistic discussions and improved investment and programmes around comprehensive sexuality education, preventing child marriages, protecting women and girls from SGBV, and making contraception choices and safe abortions easily accessible to all those who need it. Women and girls should be empowered to be decision makers and have bodily autonomy to decide when and if to have children."

Dipika Jain, Professor of Law, Vice Dean & Director of the CJLS, Jindal Global Law School, said, "The fact that abortion has been legal since 1971 needs to be spread across cities and districts. Women from all classes, not just middle-class women, should be aware of their abortion and reproductive rights. The anti-abortion rhetoric needs to be changed, and the media can play a big role. Regressive images, insensitive language and emphasis on legal rights will help abortion seekers in India."

Criminalising abortions does not stop abortions. Instead, it merely drives people to seek out risky procedures. Unsafe abortions may result in death, unlike a legal abortion performed by a qualified medical expert. A bigger concern is that this decision will not only impact women in specific countries but will also have global repercussions as it reverses decades of gain in favour of gender equality and women's bodily autonomy.

An essential component of a woman's overall health is her reproductive health. Women's reproductive health can only be guaranteed by having access to quality healthcare. In many cultures around the world, abortion is still frowned upon and is still illegal. This causes unintended pregnancies, miscarriages, and other severe long-term effects on women's health.

Women frequently turn to risky methods when abortion is not medically or legally permitted, which prevents it from being done correctly. Their health is adversely affected by this over the long run. Abortion is a challenging procedure, and if it is not done correctly, it may result in major psychological and physical stress.