Image: Vinoj Manning, CEO, Ipas
Development Foundation India
….On International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September 2022, the Supreme Court of India extended the right to legal abortion to 20 weeks’ gestation for all women and to 24 weeks’ gestation under special circumstances. However, access and awareness of abortion rights continue to be a challenge.
Recently, the Ipas Development Foundation India (IDF) released a survey that delves into public opinions on the legal right to abortion in India. The survey revealed significant variations in attitudes and comfort levels across different demographics, offering a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of this critical issue. Vinoj Manning, CEO of IDF, talked of the urgent need for targeted educational efforts to sensitize the public about abortion rights, particularly in less-educated communities, based on the survey. For example, it revealed that “only 29% of respondents believe women should be the primary decision-makers for abortion. There is a need for interventions in favour of gender equality and bodily autonomy.”
“…Safe, respectful, non-judgemental abortion is not easily available in India. And this is a very sad dichotomy. We have a 50-year-old liberal abortion law that has undergone major amendments twice to keep pace with the changing times… However, access to legal abortions remains highly compromised; and a big reason for that is stigma – among providers, influencers, the community, and most of all, among women themselves. Women have taken abortions into their own hands – today of the 15.6 million abortions every year in India, over 70% are taking place outside of the formal health system setting — where they don’t want to give complete autonomy to the person undergoing the abortion.”
“Our data say that only 1 in 3 people know that abortion is legal in India. Despite abortion being legal in India for the last 50 years, awareness about legality, safety and availability of abortion is quite low. Back in 2014, we worked with the national government to launch India’s first mass media campaign on safe abortions; we work with various state governments to ensure that information and educational materials on abortion are updated and circulated; we reach out to rural communities to increase awareness on safe abortion. However, we know that more and more people are now relying on digital media for information….”
The report also reveals that there is strong support for abortion, with 72% saying that abortion should be allowed in the country. Education plays a key role in shaping abortion views. Even basic education increases acceptance and comfort levels. Women are more supportive of abortion rights for the unmarried and are more comfortable discussing it compared to men. It is quite telling that while younger adults (18-24 years) are more accepting of abortion in general, they are conservative when it comes to abortion access for unmarried people, they are also less comfortable discussing abortions…
And this is a key problem area at multiple levels – at a conceptual level when we think of rights, at a service provision level because providers therefore want the partner or husband to show consent for the abortion, at a care-seeking level because women are always made to feel that there is a need to hide an abortion. Related to this are aspects of less support for the unmarried, and the discomfort that especially the younger generation seems to feel when it comes to discussing it…
These findings have given us good leads on areas to touch upon in our community work. Some of these are not new – we have always known that women’s autonomy is an issue, we have known that there is always less support for the unmarried. But what we had assumed was that the younger generation would be more supportive, more open – that is not the case. We need to find easier ways to change attitudes and to normalize abortions in communities… Based on the findings of this report, we are hoping to pivot some of our efforts to work with community leaders, strengthen partnerships at the ground level, involve men and basically find ways to make abortion a topic that is easier to discuss. We believe that will be a big step towards normalization, reproductive health, and justice…
Over 1.5 million abortions take place in India every year – they don’t need to be swept under the carpet… We need to improve the experience of every person undergoing an abortion.
SOURCE: Financial Express Healthcare, by Sushmita Panda, 8 September 2024