Law of abortion in India

The term Abortion has been derived from a Latin word 'abortus' means an object which had been detached from its proper site. Abortion refers to the removal of product of fertilization from the uterus. It is the ending of pregnancy at any time before the fetus has achieved the stage of viability. According to Webster's New International Dictionary 'abortion' means an act of giving premature birth, specifically the expulsion of human fetus prematurely at any time before it is capable of sustaining life. Abortion is a controversial and sensitive issue which involves religious, moral and social judgments on which opinions strongly differ. The laws on abortion was developed in the late nineteenth century when female's rights groups, doctors and lawyers started an organized abortion reforms movement to make the laws on abortion because many of them had often witnessed the deadly complications resulting from illegal abortions. But also at the same time some Female's right organization also began to see abortion reform as a pivotal step towards the goal of equality between the sexes. They argued that the female must be able to control their pregnancies in order to secure equal status. In addition new concerns about the explosive population growth and its effect on the environment increased public awareness of the need for Birth Control. At the same time, other countries developed far more modern laws related to abortion. In Japan and some Europeans countries, abortion was available on demand, and Western Europe, abortion was only permitted to protect the mother's health. The issue of public awareness was also increased through the two incidents of 1960’s and 1961 where a great number of children was born with physical defects because due to the drug thalidomide , used to treat nausea during pregnancy and German measles epidemic caused thousands of children to be born with defects . Pregnant female who were affected by these incidents could not seek abortion because of due to the presence of strict laws against the abortion at that time.