What prevents women from seeking safe, legal abortions? Studies show that the awareness about abortion and its legality is very low among people. To add to the confusion, the implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 or PCPNDT Act which makes sex selection illegal gives anti-abortion messages.

This is the fifth and final episode of a series Matter of Choice, a series that explores how women face medical, legal and social barriers to abortions. Suno India’s Menaka Rao spoke to Saraswati Sahu, a leader with the Chhatisgarh Mahila Mukti Morcha that works on the rights of workers, who talks about her own abortion stories and how she used to feel abortion was illegal, and that she had to undergo abortion surreptitiously. Menaka also talked to Pritam Potdar, the managing director with the Pune-based non-profit, Samyak Communication and Research Centre, which works on gender rights. Menaka also spoke to Vinoj Manning, the CEO of the international non profit Ipas Development Foundation and his colleague, Samina Parveen who works as a specialist in the research and evaluation team at IPAS which recently released a survey on the attitudes of Indians about abortion.

This podcast is supported by Pulitzer center

References

Trends in selective abortions of girls in India: analysis of nationally representative birth histories from 1990 to 2005 and census data from 1991 to 2011 - PubMed

Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 | India Code

At 914, child sex ratio is the lowest since Independence - The Hindu

https://www.masum-india.org.in/images/Sex%20selection%20and%20safe%20abortion.pdf

Doctors wary of conducting abortions after 12 weeks | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times

Illegal sale of abortion pills: Drug inspectors raid seven medical stores in Beed | Mumbai News - Times of India

Private detectives to check sex determination tests in Punjab | Chandigarh News - Times of India

Why getting a safe abortion by a registered gynaecologist has become almost impossible

(PDF) " If a woman has even one daughter, I refuse to perform the abortion " : Sex determination and safe abortion in India

(PDF) Evaluating the relative effectiveness of high-intensity and low-intensity models of behaviour change communication interventions for abortion care-seeking in Bihar and Jharkhand, India: A cross-sectional study

Improving care seeking behavior of young women for sexual and reproductive health in Assam and Madhya Pradesh

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How getting an abortion is linked to contraceptive use

How a person seeking abortion is treated often relates to their contraception history. When someone seeks abortion, the health system discriminates against those who take temporary contraceptives or no contraceptives at all. The public health hospitals often deny abortion unless women undergo a permanent sterilisation or at least take a long acting contraceptive such as intrauterine devices.

This is the fourth episode of a series 'Matter of Choice', a series that explores how women face. This podcast explores how these systemic denials and attitudes have classist and casteist implications. Suno India’s Menaka Rao also speaks to women who got pregnant after a sterlisation surgery, which is rare. Despite exhausting all their methods to avoid pregnancy, these women barely get any help when they seek abortion.

medical, legal and social barriers to abortions. This podcast features women from Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Menaka speaks to human rights activist and educationist, Shreya Khemani, and labour rights activist, Saraswati Sahu, both of whom are based in Chhattisgarh. Menaka also spoke to Dr Suchitra Dalvie, gynaecologist and coordinator of Asia Safe Abortion Partnership.

This podcast is supported by Pulitzer Center.

References

Mistreatment and Coercion: Unethical Sterilization in India

Men’s Participation in Family Planning & Reproductive Health

Comparative effectiveness of hysteroscopic and laparoscopic sterilization for women: a retrospective cohort study - ScienceDirect

End sterilisation camps, says Supreme Court - The Hindu

India sterilisations: More Chhattisgarh botched cases - BBC News

See sunoindia.in/privacy-policy for privacy information.

This episode explores the barriers faced by women who are pregnant before they turn single, either by widowhood or marital separation, or any other reason. This is the third episode of a series Matter of Choice, a series that explores how women face medical, legal and social barriers to abortions.

In this episode, Menaka Rao speaks with a woman whose husband died when she was pregnant, leaving her to make the tough choice. We discuss the legal precedents in relation to women who sought an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy when they were either widowed or separated.

This episode was supported by the Pulitzer Centre.

References

X vs. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Govt. of NCT of Delhi and Another

Woman asks to terminate 22-week pregnancy as she wants divorce, Delhi HC seeks medical report

Mrs B vs Union of India Oct 2023

R vs Union of India 23 JANUARY, 2024

Poonam Sharma vs Union Of India on 9 October, 2023

Human rights including a supportive framework of law and policy (1.3.1) - Abortion care guideline

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