Sep
12
Last year, an Indian woman confronted the government and its ill-sensed laws over the issue of abortion and she lost her strife.1 She was forced to deliver a baby she just didn’t want while she knew that the chances of her baby to survive after taking birth are very less and it is sure that the baby will suffer acute body and mental disabilities with a permanent pacemaker to keep it alive throughout its life. Yet the government didn’t allow that woman decide for herself, they said, abortion is killing, and she and her to be borne baby was forced to suffer the dilemma for long times.
Here the story is different. Government now wants a 19 year old girl to abort her child reason being; a government employee raped her in a government care-center, she is allegedly mentally challenged and they say she has a low IQ, she wouldn’t survive the trauma of childbirth.
The issue is much related to the same question of Age of Consent2 where I stressed over the uselessness of the arbitrary line of age to consider a person being able to make meaningful decision for his/her own self, I suggested that every such case should be dealt independently of any other or prior cases.
Legally a 19 year old girl is adult, and is free to marry and to have children. Who decides this freedom? Only that girl should be the person who may decide over such personal issues and ideally, government should avoid interfering in such personal matters as all such questions pertain to individual freedom and her right to evolve and enjoy her life. That is, the government cannot dictate and should not dictate any arbitrary age of consent.
In this particular case, Lakshmi (as given in BBC news3 ) is a 19 year old mentally challenged girl who was raped by the guard of the governmental care center where she was being admitted. The child is a result of that sexual assault.
Governmental lawyers say that as Lakshmi is mentally challenged and unfit to hold the responsibility of a mother, she should abort the child, Lakshmi opposes that and her lawyer puts up her case. Lakshmi want to be the mother irrespective of her IQ, she does not want to abort the child. In her defense, she says that she has already performed as a babysitter for some other woman’s child in the care-center and she knows how to take care of a newly-born child.
She already has overcome the stress and pains of the sexual violence and rape she faced in the same government care-center which was meant to safeguard her and all other girls like her dwelling there. Infact now whenever anyone asks her about the rape, she starts talking about the child, when anyone comes to visit her, she asks them to bring new clothes and a swing for her child. Obviously she is emotionally evolving and gaining strength. She is overcoming the dilemma and threat of the sexual depression she faced and she is overcoming the shame of being raped.
On the other hand, government medical experts say that she could not look after a baby, psychologists say she suffers from “mild mental retardation” and has a low IQ.
Lakshmi’s lawyer, Tanu Bedi disagrees.
“Can we say just because she has a low IQ, anybody can decide for her and against her specific wish to have an abortion, which has the medical complications and problems for all times to come for her health? In my view it would have been a judicial rape.”
I do not think many would disagree with Tanu Bedi and I totally agree with her.
The medical reports says that the child would be healthy and delivery would be normal, while if aborted, Lakshmi may face medical complications. Also what would be her mental and emotional condition when she will face the death of her child despite of her wish to keep the child alive?
On the other hand, last year when a mother was demanding her right to abort her child on the basis of the medical reports that her child won’t be physically and mentally fit and it will be difficult for the child to survive more than two years after birth was forced to give birth to that child, and to keep looking for the pains and coming up death of her newly born child.
So in one case, when the government had authority to allow the woman to abort or not to abort the child, government forced her to give birth and exclaimed that abortion is immoral. While in this case, government is looking for a rescue in the arbitrary IQ rank and want Lakshmi to abort her child (the child is due in December) which was conceived because of a government employee raping her, In my view, that would be a judicial rape.
In my view, whether to give birth to a child or not, is entirely a mother’s decision and her responsibility. No moral, social, religious or government binding can restrict her right to have that choice and here, but the government lawyers want Lakshmi to abort the child on a newly found obligation – the restriction of IQ.
- Court rejects plea to abort fetus with heart defects, India News [↩]
- Age of Consent, Child molestation and Legal System, Reason for Liberty [↩]
- Indian Woman fights for Rape Baby, BBC News [↩]
4 Responses to “The issue of twisted abortions”
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GP Says:
September 15th, 2009 at 6:15 pmThe 1st case of Niketa Mehata – Hospital admitted there was typographical error in submitting report which said
“There are [u]fair[/u] chances of child would be born incapacitated and handicapped. However,in its second report
the hospital changed the word “fair” with “least” and said there are “very least chances” of the child being born handicapped, to avoid any confusion.
HC refuses to allow Niketa Mehta to abort after 26 weeks (as per law) as there were no medical evidence to support plea and New hospital report said child won’t be handicapped
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mehta-abortion-case-hospital-admits-to-clerical-error/70491-3-1.html
The 2nd case which u mentioned – SC already ruled out decision of HC saying consent of mother the mother is mandatory under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act for abortion.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Nari-Niketan-rape-SC-says-no-abortion-without-mothers-consent/508851/
Unpretentious Diva Says:
September 16th, 2009 at 8:00 pmAbout the first case, the child is a living handicap, yes well the cost of pacemaker has been provided by the hospital authority as were promised. He is living with high uncertainty about how much will he live.
But it never was the issue of cost of pacemaker or medicines or treatment.
Second case, the raped girl is about to deliver the baby in December. When the high ourt gave orders to abort the child, she was 25 weeks pregnant. S/C overturned that order or not is not the issue, issue is government casted a case to abort a child without the child’s mother’s will.Anyways, that is also not the question.
Question is simple, why should not a woman have the chopice to abort or to give birth to a child according to her own will?
Answer is simple, Yes she should have all rights to decide for herself. it is her to decision to be made. All those High court and supreme court and governmental orders/laws are as corrupt and anti-freedom anti-individuality as your on ideas are.
The thing is, all such ridicuolous laws are the reason of all those markets which you term as “black market”.
You (your corrupt bastardized authority and law system) may deny an individual his/her right to self-govern his life, you may deny a girl to abort, or to give birth or whatever, you can’t stop her, neither from borting nor from giving birth (hatever she decides). You may declare whatsoever senseless laws you can think of to show off your bastardized ideas, the individual (you also become the individual for the short times when you get rid of the druged state you are in) won’t let the authority and laws to rule his/her way.
Now to get your authority working you will loot further more people to appoint further more guards to “heck” whether those funny laws are being folowed or not. And all this procesws is wastage.
So the need is to abort all such laws and law authorities.
And you need to abort/or get rid of the socialized and governmental alcoholic/druged situation you are in.
GP Says:
September 18th, 2009 at 6:35 pmWell, if you want to get into argument of “pro-choice” or “pro-life or consistent life ethic” then I guess its never ending controversy.
Each stance has its own dimensions. Now, getting back to your point of – reporduction rights pof mother or why can’t one decide for herself whether she wants child or not
I would say , when u do that i.e. when u support unconstraint abortions and grant full authority to mother to make this decision then
Below are its repucussions -
1)Such rights can be misused for criminalized abortions ( i.e. Majority of cases in INDIA where its done after knowing “its a girl” and NOT “the boy” )
and ppl like you later on cry foul i.e- “How and why sex ratio in INDIA heavily skewed in the favour of males.
I mean this is the worst which you gonna get! if you are all for – “mother’s right and her body….. thing!” you got to understand the fact that – rights comes with responsibilities and as everyone are not responsible u need to have stipulators/controllers in the legal form.
2)It will life of mother in danger if such abortions done without proper medical counciling( i.e.without understanding risks associated with mother’s health in doin it)
and there is every single possibility that it will !( coz most the cases are teenage pregnancies and surely such teenages are not adult enough to make appropriate decisions)
For me best way is -Always look out for preventing unwanted pregnancies rather than searching way outs for cleaning up your mess.
Bottomline – Abortions are fine under conditions such as rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity,and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother,etc.
in other cases they should be dealt strictly as per laws.
By the way – if this is also not the question
or intended point of article and its all about “I AM GONNA BASH indian govt. and legal system JUST BCOZ I THINK SO!” then I don’t have any arguments to make 
Unpretentious Diva Says:
September 18th, 2009 at 7:24 pmWell GP, its your (your majority rule tyranical government’s) bastardized idea that sex-selection is crime. Abortion for any personal reason is not crime if the mother herself want to abort the child, no matters girl or boy.
If you do not agree to it, kindly try to answer for your own soul, why it is not crime to abort the boy child, and it is crime to abort girl child? You will find that crminalization of abortion of girl child is ridiculous. Or you will find that aborting the chi;ld irrespective of girl or boy, is crime. (I assume that with your state of governmental alcoholism, you will get the answer that abortion of child irrespective of sex is crime.)
That is, your first point is baseless and ridiculously irrational. You cannot discriminate on behalf of sex and say that if one aborts a child knowing its a boy then it is ok, but if one aborts a child knowing it is a girl than it is crime.
Now about your second point which is much more ridiculous and abhoring than the first, as a matter of fact, I simply despise you and feel pity for you because you always make such senseless irrational and idiotic points, I am sure even a 10 year old child with sane mind can have a better reasoning than you, no wonder you are neither sane nor rational.
With freedom to choose to abort or not to abort, the dangers of mothers to go through unchecked aborting process will reduce to Great Extent. Why? because than medical practitioner won’t hide their activities opf getting indulged in helping the women who want to abort.
At present with no freedom, when women are forced to go through unknown and hidden processes of those medical [practitioners who are working under hidden covers to sav their asses from the ridiculous sense of government to punish all practitioners who are providing abrtive facilities, women are in much more dangers. I wonder how and why cannot you grasp this simple reality.
This is simple to the fact that prostitutes under current system where prostitution is barely legal and infat is illegal are in much much more danger of exploitation, ill-health and corruption of police and government.
But, its not all about this, thew thing is pretty simple, the interference of government and government ruled law system (governmental H/C and supreme court) makes it a burden on you and on me and on all other tax payers to pay for such ridiculous situations and cases.
Take the idea, whole high court system with judges and bench, court legals and government prosecutors along with the private NGO p[rosecutor for that girl (Lakshmi) were engaged in debating for the right of Lakshmi to have the child or not to have it. The NGO paid for the Lakshmi’s lawyer, who paid the judge? who paid the whole high court courtlegals, clerks and prosecutor bench? Who paid for supreme court? We paid for it, by means of the robbery that is Taxes.
I simply abhor and oppose the wastage of my hard earned money in such governmental process. In fact the issue is of freedom, freedom of individuals like Me, you Lakshmi and others from the government from its all such wastefull activities.
tada.