Reproductive Freedom is crucial to real equality!
AILAJ condemns the judgment of the USA Supreme Court in Dobbs, State Health Officer of The Mississippi Department of Health, Et Al. V. Jackson Women's Health Organization Et Al overturning the landmark judgment of the USA Supreme Court in Roe v Wade (1973), which upheld the constitutional right to abortion. The judgment will have massive implications and is reflective of the rise of conservative forces across globe.
In Roe v. Wade, the US SC held that abortion was constitutionally protected through the rights of privacy and liberty of the woman. The court held that the foetus did not have life, but only the potentiality of life, and the State could only claim interest in the right of the foetus at the stage of viability - usually at about 7 months. Thereafter, in 1992, the SC Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey upheld the "essential holding" of Roe v Wade including the recognition of a woman's right to choose to have an abortion, while changing the framework of regulation to an "undue burden" standard. Now, Dobbs v Jackson holds that explicitly that "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives."
The judgment violates the fundamental rights of women in USA, and is a heavily regressive step. Reproductive freedom is something that has been recognised as a right of women in countries across the globe, including India. In fact, in K.S. Puttaswamy vs. Union of India (2017), while referencing Roe v Wade and recognising the fundamental right to privacy, the Supreme Court held: "Privacy includes at its core the preservation of personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home and sexual orientation. Privacy also connotes a right to be left alone."
AIALAJ General Secretary Clifton D’ Rozario said that by effectively permitting the 'people and their elected representatives' to decide the rights of women and dilute their autonomy, liberty and dignity, the USA Supreme Court has failed its duty to act as the safeguard between a constitutional democracy and a majoritarian regime.
