Supreme Court: Abortion allowed to unmarried woman at 24 weeks

The Supreme Court has given an important verdict while hearing a case. The Supreme Court has allowed an unmarried woman to have an abortion at 24 weeks. The bench of Justice Chandrachud has given this verdict. A few days ago, the High Court had denied permission to this woman to have an abortion. The Supreme Court said that unmarried women have the same right to abortion as a married woman.

A bench of Justice Dhananjaya Chandrachud said that a woman cannot be barred from having an abortion simply because she is unmarried. Referring to research in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 2021, the bench said that it mentions spouse instead of 'husband'. The court said that this shows that unmarried women have a place in the law.

An unmarried woman cannot be allowed to have an abortion after 23 weeks. The High Court said that abortion in such a situation is tantamount to killing the foetus. The court advised the petitioners to stay in a 'safe place' till the birth of the baby and suggested that the baby could be adopted after delivery.

A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subrahmanyam Prasad of the Delhi High Court said, "We cannot allow you to have an abortion." The fetus has completed 23 weeks. People are queuing up to adopt the baby, asking how many weeks are left for delivery, why are you killing the baby? We do not compel the petitioner to maintain the child. However, they should go to a good hospital. So that no one will know about it. The court said that the baby should be delivered and come back with the right answer.