Introduction
Any reproductive choice is a decision having
a direct impact and the greatest bearing, only on
the concerned individual(s). Like marriage and
other aspects of family life, which have a limited
effect on the community, it is an area ordinarily
left to individual decision-making. Thus, by its
very nature, the right to reproductive choice is
an aspect of the right to privacy or the “right to
be let alone.”
On one hand, women may be forced to
undergo abortion even when they don’t want
to — as with female foeticides. On the other,
she may be compelled to reproduce against her
wishes. Stereotypical depictions of women as
homemakers and mothers only contribute to
these factors.
As a result, women often resort to illegal or
unsafe abortion methods. Studies have estimated
that millions of women undergo abortion each
year and over 50% of those are done in highly
unsafe environments. Neither the Indian nor
the U.S. Constitution explicitly recognizes the
right to procreative choices or even the broader
concept of the right to privacy.
CONSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON
PROCREATIVE CHOICES
In the U.S., the right to privacy has achieved
constitutional status on the ground that it is one
of the elements of “liberty” protected by the Due
Process Clause.2 U.S.courts have interpreted
the right broadly and have extended it to cover
numerous other rights3 After the Supreme
Court’s decision in Griswold v. Connecticut,4 it
is now well settled in American constitutional
jurisprudence that the right to privacy is wide
enough to protect procreative choices from
unreasonable State interference. In subsequent
decisions, courts have invalidated requirements
of parental consent, spousal consent etc.,