THE FEMINIST DUALITY: EMBRACING PATERNAL INVOLVEMENT AND RECOGNITION IN ABORTION DECISION-MAKING

AUTHOR – SIDHI M JAIN, STUDENT OF SCHOOL OF LAW, CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), BANGALORE

BEST CITATION – SIDHI M JAIN, THE FEMINIST DUALITY: EMBRACING PATERNAL INVOLVEMENT AND RECOGNITION IN ABORTION DECISION-MAKING, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 4 (1) OF 2024, PG. 1396-1400, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

Abortion is a method of terminating a pregnancy. It can be done in two ways: “medical abortion,” which involves using drugs or abortion pills to end the pregnancy, or “surgical abortion”, which involves removing the pregnancy from the uterus. Despite its growing popularity, abortion is still a difficult issue. However, as times have changed, people’s ideologies have gotten more liberal, and as a result, various laws have been enacted, legalizing abortion in India. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 made abortion legal in India.  While most abortion debates centre on the rights of the mother or the unborn child, the rights of the father are rarely discussed. The rights of the father in abortion are mentioned but not fully safeguarded in the various legal frameworks developed in India, thus this paper critically analyses the rights and duties of a father during and abortion. In the context of American courts, we observe that the courts have been categorical that the rights of men and women in abortion cannot be deemed equal, and that women do not require permission from their husbands to have an abortion. The Supreme Court of India in a 2017 case considered whether the husband/consent of father to abortion is relevant. The Supreme Court examined the case and dismissed the appeal filed by the father. It was discovered that a woman’s right to choose her reproductive choices falls under the purview of Article 21 of the Constitution, which deals with personal liberty. The laws in India have also been very strict and just, with the primary motivation being a mother’s right to abortion. Paternal rights activists all over the world debate how abortion laws should take fatherhood into account. However, the Supreme Court of India held that the father has a right to be heard, but the ultimate decision lies with the woman. While the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act provides for the conditions under which a pregnancy can be terminated, it does not address the rights of the father.