Women Alone have the Right to Decide on the Key Reproductive Issues of Abortion and Surrogacy

Women Alone have the Right to Decide on the Key

Reproductive Issues of Abortion and Surrogacy

Introduction

Reproductive rights are a part of basic human rights and there are varying levels of debates in developed as well as developing countries regarding these.
In India, many times the government and courts have intervened in giving shape and validity to reproductive rights.
Reproductive rights and related issues generally include abortion-related matters, validity of surrogacy, the question of single parenting, the decision of becoming or nor becoming a parent, family planning decisions, etc.
Main argument of the essay: Although women have the major stake in reproduction, women and even men should not be able to unilaterally decide on reproductive issues. Such decisions are often contextual and as a result differ from case to case.

Body

Survey of current debates regarding reproductive issues:

Whether woman alone should decide on abortion: Recently, the Mumbai high court gave a judgement saying women should be allowed to opt out of unwanted pregnancies irrespective of the reason.
The debate surround surrogacy is multi-faceted:
Essentially, instead of government banning surrogacy altogether, women should get freedom to choose whether they want to be surrogates or not. The recent surrogacy bill puts many restrictions on commercial surrogacy.
The second issue is who is allowed to opt for surrogacy-Heterosexual married couples? Single parents? Homosexual couples? Heterosexual unmarried couples?
Issue of single parenting: Can an unmarried woman or man be allowed to have children by themselves? Examples are Bollywood actor Tusshar Kapoor having a son using the IVF method and actor Sushmita Sen adopting two daughters with the High Court’s permission.
In a traditional marriage, should a husband and his relatives only have a say on when to have children and how many to have etc.? Or should women alone be able decide that?

Arguments for why women alone should have a say:

Feminists argue that a woman should have autonomy over her body and thus decisions about reproduction. This should especially be true in the case of surrogacy.
Women go through most of the physical and psychological impact due to pregnancy and thus have a higher stake in the issue.
Women spend a considerable amount of time and energy in bearing and rearing of children, especially in their early years, so they face most of the consequences.
If a woman is not allowed to decide on abortion or when to have children, she may have to compromise with her career and education. This takes away from her the right to lead the kind of life she wants.
In a patriarchal society like India, women are often oppressed and their views are not considered when it comes to deciding on when to have children, how many children to have, etc. Legally allowing women to decide will help address the issue of patriarchal oppression.
Commercial surrogacy can be seen as a profession or a way for women to earn a living. Can the state limit this opportunity for poor women without providing proper alternatives?
Child marriages are still prevalent in India. Young brides are not aware of their rights and the repercussions of early pregnancies. Their situation should be taken into consideration.

Arguments for why women alone should not have a say:

Though a woman has higher stakes, we cannot deny the emotional and physical investment required of a man in having children.
In traditional Indian marriages, where the husband is the breadwinner, decisions to have or not have children can have financial consequences; thus men should be able to have a say.
Matters such as surrogacy are marred with human rights concerns; in such cases, the state has to intervene to protect vulnerable women from early deaths, financial liabilities, and medical complications.
Letting women alone decide on matters such as becoming a parent hampers men’s reproductive human rights.
There are men who would want to become single parents. If only women are allowed to decide on such issues, men will be deprived of such opportunity.

What can be the solution?

Letting both partners have equal say in a marriage will be a helpful approach but this cannot be implemented in a patriarchal society.
Other family members such as in laws should not be able to force a woman or man to become a parent, as it is a decision that impacts the physical and psychological state of the person(s) concerned.
Each case is different and there has to be an empathetic view for both males and females who want to be or do not want to be parents. Therefore, case-by-case basis decisions are most appropriate, as human relationships are very complicated and subjective, and so are reproductive issues.

Conclusion

Reproductive issues comprise of multiple things such as right to abortion, right to have children, and right to surrogacy.
There are strong arguments in favour of empowering women to decide on reproductive issues.
However, men also have stakes in parenting, and in cases of commercial surrogacy, the state needs to intervene to protect vulnerable women.
The best possible approach is to respect the personal decisions of people regarding their reproductive life, ensuring that their human rights are not violated. This is possible when the specific situations and contexts are taken into account.

Notes

The topic only mentions abortion and surrogacy, but you should talk about other reproductive issues as well.
It is a controversial topic for many, therefore it is better to avoid polarized views such as the one expressed in the topic and take a middle approach.