Why do Indian women need safe abortion services?

Author: Bhuvaneswari Sunil, PhD

If this reading, kindles a spark in you to know more about women undergoing abortion, then you would decide to hear voices of women seeking abortion…But if you simply decide to blame women and abortion, you are at a loss of understanding reality…

For last five years I have worked on the issues related to safe abortion services for women.  I want to share my experiences of working on the issue and a general story of why women undergo abortion and why many women need abortion, especially respectful, safe abortion services at the public health facilities.

In India, currently the number of doctors, bureaucrats, leaders of civil society organisations (working in health sector) and even researchers who believe in women’s autonomy and their unconditional rights over their body and reproductive choices is small. While, they understand about women’s lived in realities and the importance for health services, there are several amongst them who are ambiguous about supporting induced abortion as a woman’s right. Whenever anyone mentions unconditional abortion rights of women, they argue, “What about sex selective abortions and missing girls?”, “Do women not know they will become pregnant and be responsible?”.

Even doctors, who are not totally against women’s right to abortion, often choose to deny services based on their own judgements and moral view of right and wrong about a woman and her pregnancy. This is precisely what happens when third parties are authorised to make decisions for others. It is important for providers and law-makers to understand why women seek abortion, need safe abortion services and their plight in absence of access to these.

While the prominence given to declining sex ratio is well placed, the role of induced abortion alone in the process has been undeservedly stressed and second trimester abortions have been maligned through media and by political forces. Induced abortion has been deemed as a major threat to the demographic composition of the nation and consequentially often perceived as an illegal, irresponsible act by the woman and her family who seek it and the provider who provides it. I do not deny that sex selective abortions are happening. But in my extensive field experience across these five years especially in Tamil Nadu, these as a proportion of overall induced abortions are few.

Author: Bhuvaneswari Sunil, PhD

If this reading, kindles a spark in you to know more about women undergoing abortion, then you would decide to hear voices of women seeking abortion…But if you simply decide to blame women and abortion, you are at a loss of understanding reality…

For last five years I have worked on the issues related to safe abortion services for women.  I want to share my experiences of working on the issue and a general story of why women undergo abortion and why many women need abortion, especially respectful, safe abortion services at the public health facilities.

In India, currently the number of doctors, bureaucrats, leaders of civil society organisations (working in health sector) and even researchers who believe in women’s autonomy and their unconditional rights over their body and reproductive choices is small. While, they understand about women’s lived in realities and the importance for health services, there are several amongst them who are ambiguous about supporting induced abortion as a woman’s right. Whenever anyone mentions unconditional abortion rights of women, they argue, “What about sex selective abortions and missing girls?”, “Do women not know they will become pregnant and be responsible?”.

Even doctors, who are not totally against women’s right to abortion, often choose to deny services based on their own judgements and moral view of right and wrong about a woman and her pregnancy. This is precisely what happens when third parties are authorised to make decisions for others. It is important for providers and law-makers to understand why women seek abortion, need safe abortion services and their plight in absence of access to these.

While the prominence given to declining sex ratio is well placed, the role of induced abortion alone in the process has been undeservedly stressed and second trimester abortions have been maligned through media and by political forces. Induced abortion has been deemed as a major threat to the demographic composition of the nation and consequentially often perceived as an illegal, irresponsible act by the woman and her family who seek it and the provider who provides it. I do not deny that sex selective abortions are happening. But in my extensive field experience across these five years especially in Tamil Nadu, these as a proportion of overall induced abortions are few.