We have talked a lot about feminism, women rights and tried to create awareness about it. There are still people who think that “women are equal to men and there is no need for feminism”. This article may help you in noticing why there are still women who have to fight for their rights. Today, in this blog I am going to talk about the “Abortion law” which is different in many countries and how these laws are still something that makes me feel that as a woman – we need movements like feminism. 

Why Abortion is illegal?

When I was searching about this topic, I realised there are many countries like – Philippines, Germany, the U.S where abortion is illegal or punishable. There are many reasons behind any abortion. Like pregnancy can be the reason behind any woman’s death, or in many cases, it became an illegal practice because people killed the fetus when they realised that the child inside a woman’s womb holds a certain gender. 

According to sources, Earlier in UK unsafe abortion caused 47,000 death worldwide every year when the abortion act of 1967 was introduced. We may not know but there were women who pleaded for abortions for several causes like, violent partners or households, women who had several children’s already and don’t want more, fear of being a mother who will be absent from the child’s life and so on. At that point, the opposition thought that it was a criminal offence. Thought that the women who do not want a child or want an abortion is just selfish, immature, and can’t take responsibility for their own actions. 

Now, here lies the answer to my question which I found after reading a lot of sources. Around the 1960s when women were pleading for such acts where abortion is not a criminal offence the debaters thought that they are just being naive and can’t make a big decision on their own which is why the debaters found a “common ground” and gave the permission to the doctors. Only if the doctor’s think and says that the best way will be an abortion – then only the abortion can happen. 

Abortion law in Texas – Why people are talking about this?

There are many countries where abortion is legal and illegal but what makes Texas abortion law so famous that it is what the internet is talking about? 

According to the New York times, “The law bars abortions states that once the heartbeat in the embryo is detected – you can not go for abortion.” The heartbeat can be detected after six weeks and by the time the doctor’s can detect – the woman who is pregnant does not even know if she is pregnant or not. According to the doctor’s, When a woman misses her period she is already 4 weeks pregnant and now she has two weeks to confirm her pregnancy and her condition and make a decision about her pregnancy.

References:
BBC
NewYork Times

Now, why is everyone against this law? 

The other states in the US have passed similar laws but the abortion law in Texas is the one that was first to be implemented. The gynecologist was interviewed and many have stated, “It is very common today for the people to get the six-week mark and still don’t know that they are pregnant. There are women who may not track their periods carefully, or may have irregular periods which is why they may not know that they are pregnant.” In such a situation, if a woman is not ready for a child she can’t get an abortion because she is trapped by the law. 

Even, the exceptions are very narrowly drawn. If a woman is raped and gets pregnant afterwards, she can’t go for an abortion after six weeks. Only if the pregnancy could endanger the mother’s life or lead to a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. 

Such narrow exceptions are one of the reasons why the people of Texas want anti-abortion.  This law will affect the teenagers of Texas who does not often know that they are pregnant or low-income people who can’t afford a child, undocumented immigrants, women of colour who will need at least $550 to cover the cost of the procedure. Any undocumented immigrant can not travel easily and in such a situation how will she handle a child? 

Abortion laws in India 

Abortion in India is still legal, however, abortion is still not a woman’s choice in India either. 

A woman who has been raped can get an abortion after 24 weeks but after the doctor’s approval. The good thing about the law in India is that a woman in India can now terminate unwanted pregnancies regardless of the fact if they are married or not. 

You can see that there is a progressive difference yet it is not about a woman’s choice over her body. 

 

“There is a need for increasing access of women to legal and safe abortion services in order to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity caused by unsafe abortions,” said health minister Harsh Vardhan during the Rajya Sabha debate on March 16. Reference.

The most population of India belongs to the Rural group where people still prefer midwives, dais for abortion and more than 56% of abortions in India are unsafe where 1 out of 10 women dies daily due to less access to safe abortion services. Reference.

My Thoughts – 

My point is if a woman thinks that she doesn’t want a child why is it so hard to accept for society? I was seeking an answer for this and I decided to ask some of my friends about me and realised, be it a man or a woman – no one is aware of the rights related to abortion or what can be the consequences after an abortion. Why safe abortion is needed in any country and why a woman should be the one to decide if she wants to have a child or not.

The law in Texas, Mississippi, or any country defines that as a woman we do not have any right and at the end of the day it is society or law which is making decisions for us. It should not be a doctor or society but us. We need to be more aware of our rights as well. Educating any woman about their rights is equally important and with that note, I hope you liked our attempt to create awareness about such law.