Reconciling the Pro-Choice Argument with the Anti-Life Rhetoric: Issues in the Indian Context

Abstract

The debate concerning the woman’s right to choose versus the right to life of the unborn child is centred around the argument, whether one right can be preferred in lieu of another. The law in India simply prohibits abortion unless carried out within twenty weeks, while remaining silent as to the point when life sprouts in the foetus. Further, abortion can only be carried out under specified conditions determined solely by the medical practitioner and not the woman. In this paper, the author argues that prior to foetal viability (twenty-four weeks into the pregnancy, as per studies), the foetus does not classify as a human person and hence, cannot be endowed with the right to life. Thus, the woman’s right to choose when and whether to terminate her pregnancy must not be encroached upon by the State, unless absolutely necessary to prevent harm to her life or health. This outlook, tied in with the implications of denying the woman her right to choose, although pro-choice in nature, does not reflect an anti-life sentiment. The author contends that a pro-choice view does not necessarily impinge upon the foetus’s right to life.