- The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the right to safe and legal abortion to all women, irrespective of their marital status, up to 24 weeks of pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
- "The marital status of a woman can't be ground to deprive her right to abort unwanted pregnancy," the top court said while pronouncing its judgement.
- A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, JB Pardiwala and AS Bopanna delivered the verdict on the interpretation of the MTP Act, and whether unmarried or single women can be allowed like their married counterparts the benefit of abortion up to 24 weeks.
- The court also noted that due to a widespread misconception that termination of pregnancies of unmarried women is illegal in India, a woman and her partner might resort to carrying out abortion by an unlicensed medical practitioner, leading to a heightened risk of complications and maternal mortality.
All women are entitled to safe and legal abortion now
