Recently, in a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India allowed a 13-year-old rape survivor to terminate her thirty-one week old pregnancy. Present law, under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP), does not allow abortion after 20 weeks.
The Mumbai-based survivor’s mother had moved the apex court, seeking permission to terminate the unwanted pregnancy. The crime was unearthed when the victim’s mother had taken her daughter to a local doctor after she complained of a bloated stomach. The survivor’s father is a poor street vendor. The accused had been arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The judgment is a great relief for the child rape victims. In a similar case, the apex court had denied permission to another 10-year-old rape survivor to terminate her 32-week pregnancy in last July. The present judgment shall work as a relief to other victims.
There are two dimensions of the issue. One dimension is the constraint to abortion put by the MTP Act on the age of fetus. The second dimension relates to the pregnancy termination of a child. It is well known that the minimum age of marriage of a girl is put at 18 years legally, considering her health capacity.
In the context of abortion dimension which applies to women in general, the Supreme Court has already asked the Centre to devise a mechanism to deal with abortion pleas in cases where the foetus is more than 20 weeks’ old and poses a threat to the mother’s life. While hearing similar abortion pleas, another bench of the Supreme Court had urged the Centre to explore the possibility of setting up permanent medical boards in States to deal with the issue. The Government is also considering amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, including raising the 20-week limit set for abortion.
But there is less focus on the second dimension which relates to the question of abortion of any week foetus of a child, either married or rapedIJ The question is simple: Can a child be allowed to become a motherIJ This is the question, which was rightly asked this time by a child concerned court.
There should be appropriate provision in the abortion law that allows a child who is under 18 years of age to enjoy the right of abortion whether she is married or raped. A child is surely not physically fit to become a mother. Choosing between the right to life of a foetus and right to life and right to dignity of a girl child, the latter should take precedence over the former and the UNCRC should come to the rescue of the child –mother, wanted or un-wanted. Further, the definition of health as given by the WHO should be considered to secure the protection of the child from becoming a mother.
Society is not yet aware to give protection to the girls in the domain of marital heath rights. India is a country where child -marriage is still practiced. Child welfare committees swing into action to rescue and rehabilitate a child only when they are informed by their own sources or by the police. But a number of child marriages occur with the approval of the parents, relatives, caste- panchayats, religious leaders and such other social bodies. No one reports to the police. There is a need of spreading awareness in the society on the adverse effects of child marriage. The girl bride must go to schools and the system of child marriage must be mitigated. The police, the CWC, the ICDS workers, the health workers, the women SHGs, the PRIs and the NGOs must work together to end the practice in a mission mode like we presently take forward the Swachha Bharat Mission. It has to be a public movement rather than law enforcement exercise.
Apart from child marriage, the girl child is sexually exploited. There is no consent logic for children here. It is considered rape and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) protects the girl child to punish the offender. A girl child is either sexually abused by another child and by male adults. Here, society often blocks the POCSO Act to come in. The parents and caste leaders often try to compromise the case and even settle it with marriage. Usually, a known man of the girl child is involved in such sexual abuses. Sometimes, the pregnancy of the rape survivor girl forces the parents to go for a compromise. By allowing termination of pregnancy to child-mothers legally irrespective of the age of foetus, the parents can become free from getting into marriage deals between the rape-survivor and the accused. There is a need for both amendments of law as well as social awareness building.
Apart from marriage and rape at home or schools or child labour sites or transportation, the girl children should be protected from falling prey to sex-workers and child-trafficking. Sex tourism is becoming another menace which has to be dealt with strictly. Girl children also become sexually victimized by pseudo Babas, local black magicians and quacks.
The decision of the SC shall help a rape survivor girl child to abort the unwanted foetus and make her life free from risk of death, but it does not erase her mental trauma and loss of self-worth. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent sexual abuse and rape. The enforcement of law by police in each locality can work as a deterrent. But it is not enough. It is the duty of the parents to ensure that safe environment is available for their girl child at home, school, private teaching center or the places which she visits regularly. The parents should keep in mind that the known male persons of all ages including the relatives pose more risk to a girl than the unknown persons. The State Governments must send circulars from time to time to make school and school hostels safer places for the girl students and ensure periodic visit of the Child Welfare Committees to all private and public schools and hostels.