Mumbai : The Supreme Court has given a historic decision regarding abortion. The Supreme Court has clarified that safe legal abortion is the right of every woman whether married or unmarried. According to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, unmarried women in India can now have an abortion up to 24 weeks. Before this decision of the Supreme Court, women had to face legal problems for abortion. There are many cases of death due to various lethal methods for abortion.
According to the National Family Health Survey data, almost half of the women in India have abortions against their will. The survey revealed a number of social, economic and family reasons for abortion.
Why do women have abortions in India?
According to the National Family Health Survey-5, half of the women in India have unwanted or unplanned abortions. According to statistics, 47.6% of abortions are performed in an unplanned manner. While 11.03 percent of abortions are due to health reasons. 9.7% of miscarriages are due to improper development of the newborn. 9.1 percent of abortions are done for some personal reason. Whereas 4.1 per cent abortions are performed against the will of the husband or mother-in-law.
In India, 3.4 percent of abortions are due to poor economic conditions. States like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have high abortion rates due to poor economic conditions. At the same time, 2.1 percent of abortions are due to having a girl in the womb. This is the situation when knowing the gender of the unborn child was a legal offense in India. Whereas 12.7 percent of abortions are due to other reasons.
What are the causes of unsafe abortion?
India has the highest number of unsafe abortions. According to the National Family Health Survey-5 data, 27 percent of abortions in India are performed at home. Women or girls are given abortion at home without any hospitalization. It is a major threat to women’s health. At the same time, many women have to lose their lives due to such unsafe abortions. 21.6% of abortions in the city are performed by women themselves. The abortion rate at home in rural areas is as high as 30 percent.
More than half of India’s 54.8 women go to doctors for abortions. Whereas in India 3.5 percent abortions are performed by friends and relatives.
8 women die every day from unsafe abortion
According to the United Nations World Population Report 2022, about 8 women die every day in India due to unsafe abortions. At the same time, unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of death for women in India. According to statistics, 67 percent of unsafe abortions took place in India between 2007 and 2011.
Delhi has a higher abortion rate than states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. 5.7% of women in Delhi choose this option of abortion. This figure is 1.5 percent in Rajasthan and 1.3 percent in Madhya Pradesh. 19 states and union territories have a higher proportion of women opting for abortion than the national average of 2.9.
