CHANGING PERSPECTIVES AND ETHICAL DILEMAS OF ABORTION RIGHTS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ABORTION OF DISABLED FETUS

Abstract

Abortion as a right is still a debatable concern in the realm of medical ethics. Many consider abortion as unethical but with the passage of time and advancement of technology, abortion is considered to be ethical for the reasons to be noted. Ethics is considered as a regulatory analysis of the concept of morality. The principles of ethics and virtue are universal and are to be applied to everyone irrespective of religion, race and various other spiritual beliefs. Therefore, medical ethics have been considered as “trans-cultural, transnational and trans-religious” the realm of ethics can be enlarged to morality, values, etiquette, and responsibility. Can abortion be brought under right to life and personal liberty? Life of a human being is precious and every human has the right to life but whether the fetus also has a right to life is both a legal, moral and ethical issue. There are diverse opinions about abortion rights all over the world. The infamous case of Roe v. Wade, that set a precedent on abortion rights since decades, however has been overturned by the US Supreme Court in the case of Dobbes v. Jackson in 2022. On the other hand, the laws in India are different. Article 21 of the Constitution of India speaks about right to life and personal liberty but doesn’t guarantee abortion as an exclusive fundamental right nor the Indian legislations lack clarity on abortion as a fundamental right. The only aspect related to abortion that citizens are aware is that, under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971, sex of the baby cannot be revealed till birth of the child, due to the existence of a large number of brutal sex selective abortions (female feticide) in many parts of India as a girl child is considered to be a burden. Whether the women are bestowed with the right to choose to abort the baby in light of any such circumstances has always been a heated discussion. This paper aims to discuss the abortion rights of women and the right to life of an unborn disabled child in light of global perspective of women’s rights. The research has been accordingly undertaken to understand the disability abortion and the ethical dilemma around it.