All Women Are Entitled To Safe And Legal Abortion: Supreme Court

New Delhi: All women are entitled to a safe and legal abortion process and making any distinction between a married and an unmarried woman in this regard is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled today in a ground-breaking judgement.

The court also recognised marital rape, though purely within the ambit of abortion. The court ruled that under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, the definition of rape must include marital rape.

The marital status of a woman cannot be a ground to deprive her of the right to abortion, the court said. Even unmarried women would be entitled to terminate an unwanted pregnancy within 24 weeks, it ruled. The court said depriving single or unmarried women of the right to abort an unwanted pregnancy is a violation of fundamental rights.