A STEP FORWARD FOR ABORTION RIGHTS AND BLOW TO EXCEPTION OF MARITAL RAPE
(Relevant for Sociology Optional for Civil Services Examination)
Paper 1: Family, Household, Marriage
Paper 1: Family and Marriage in India
CONTEXT:
The Supreme Court has extended the right to safe and legal abortion upto 24 weeks of pregnancy to all women in the country, regardless of marital status.
Sociological analysis of reproductive rights● Functionalists like G. P. MURDOCK AND PARSONS argues that reproduction is an essential function of family and they emphasize on the expressive role of women. ● Similarly traditional role of family is legitimization of sexual relations. ● Simone de Beauvoir: argued for women’s reproductive rights as an essential aspect of women’s liberation. She challenged traditional gender roles and emphasized the need for women to have control over their reproductive choices in order to achieve full autonomy and equality. ● Audre Lorde: , highlighted the intersectionality of reproductive rights and social justice. She argued that reproductive justice goes beyond the right to abortion and encompasses the right to have children, access to reproductive healthcare, and freedom from reproductive coercion and injustice. ● Shulamith Firestone: emphasized the significance of reproductive rights in dismantling patriarchy. In her book “The Dialectic of Sex,” she argued for the development of reproductive technologies to liberate women from the burdens and constraints of biological reproduction. S.C. DUBE: in his village study he found that the traditional norms want that women should consider her husband as master and should serve him faithfully. Husband is an authoritative figure in the family and his will should be dominating in the domestic sphere |
EXISTING LAW AND SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT
- Unconditional abortion is not permitted in India. Abortion is illegal in India under SECTION 312 AND 313 of IPC; unless it is performed in a manner prescribed under Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.(M.T.P. ACT)
- MTP ACT, 1972 was amended in 2021
- Extended the MTP ACT services under failure of contraceptive clauses to any women for safe abortion based on women’s choice irrespective of marital status.
- Increased gestational limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women.
- Advice of one doctor is needed for terminating the pregnancy of gestation period up to 20 weeks, and two doctors upto 24 weeks.
- The particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated cannot be revealed except to a person authorized by law.
- Supreme Court Judgment
- It held that Rule 3B should be interpreted as extending to any woman who has undergone a material change of circumstances
- Supreme Court ruled that unmarried women are also entitled to seek termination of 24 weeks of pregnancy arising out of a consensual relationship
- Significance of Supreme Court Judgment : This is a landmark decision for women as it places them at the very center of the abortion decision. Three distinct contributions are of note
- SUPREME COURT provided purposive interpretation and held that the objective of act is to provide legal and safe medical abortion to women.
- It observed that if Rule 3B(c) was to be interpreted such that its benefits extended not only to married women, otherwise it would perpetuate the stereotype that only married women indulge in sexual intercourse.
- It centered abortion on a woman’s own estimation of her circumstances and highlighted women’s bodily autonomy.
- It held that marital rape would be rape for the purposes of the MTP Act. It further states that MTP rules create an ‘artificial distinction between married and single women’ and this is “not constitutionally sustainable”.
- It has also implications for the LGBTQ+ community, recognized that familial relationships go beyond the conventional notion of marriage, to include domestic, unmarried partnerships and queer relationships, which are “as real as their traditional counterparts.
Challenges in abortion in India
- As per National Health and Family Survey, 2015-16, only 53% of abortions are performed by registered medical doctors in India.
- Several inscriptions and religious texts oppose the idea of abortion which hinders development of social acceptance.
- Social stigmas attached to unmarried women becoming pregnant, illegality of unmarried women seeking abortions, loss of privacy victims of rape etc.
- The abortion debate asks whether it can be morally right to terminate a pregnancy before normal childbirth. There is pro choice and pro life debate.
Sample Question for UPSC Sociology Optional Paper:
Question 1: How do Functionalists like G.P. Murdock and Parsons view the issue of reproductive rights in the context of family?
Answer:
Functionalists see reproduction as an essential function of the family and emphasize the expressive role of women, often sidelining women’s agency in reproductive choices.
Question 2: Discuss the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the exception of marital rape in Indian society.
Answer:
The Supreme Court’s ruling challenges the traditional patriarchal norms that legitimize marital rape, empowering women and upholding their right to bodily autonomy within the domestic sphere.
Question 3: What is the significance of the Supreme Court’s judgment on extending abortion rights to unmarried women?
Answer:
The judgment challenges societal stereotypes and stigmas, affirming women’s bodily autonomy and reproductive rights, irrespective of marital status.
Question 4: How do social stigmas affect the exercise of abortion rights in India?
Answer:
Social stigmas, particularly those related to unmarried women and premarital sex, often deter women from seeking legal and safe abortions, pushing them towards unsafe methods.
Question 5: In what ways does the Supreme Court’s recent ruling have implications for the LGBTQ+ community in India?
Answer:
The ruling recognizes non-traditional family structures, including queer relationships, thereby broadening the scope of reproductive and sexual rights to include the LGBTQ+ community.
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META TAGS:
Reproductive Rights, Sociological Analysis for Reproductive Rights, Types and forms of family, Lineage and descent, patriarchy and sexual division of labour, Contemporary trends, Sociological analysis, Patriarchy, Patriarchy entitlements and sexual division of labour, Supreme Court of India, Abortion Rights, Reproductive Rights, Sociological analysis, Marital Rape, Functionalism, Simone de Beauvoir, Audre Lorde, Shulamith Firestone, MTP Act, Section 312, Section 313, Social Stigma, Pro Choice, Pro Life, LGBTQ+ Sociological analysis,
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