Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice.

Today's papers were filled with news of the couple from Bhayander (Bombay) who moved the court, so that they could abort their 24 week old foetus. They are doing this, since abortion after 20 weeks is illegal in India, and the baby had some sort of heart blockage/cardiac problem.

So basically, the pro-life/pro-choice war that has been raging in the USA and other countries for years has finally touched Indian shores.

As a woman, I am firmly in the pro-choice camp. Irrespective of the fact that it is my body, and therefore mine to do whatever suits me (whether it is keeping the baby or not), no courts can decide whether I am in a position to be a fit mother, emotionally or financially. It's amazing how the pro-life brigade is only bothered about whether the baby is born or not, and is in no way concerned about the quality of life of the baby or the family.

Kudos to the couple to decided against going into some clinic in a dark alley, and having the courage to go the legal way, even though this might wreck irreparable damage on their image, not to mention the psyche of the child once she is old enough to realise that she wasn't wanted.

Unfortunately, the courts in their infinite knowledge decided that they know what is better for us than we do and decided not to let them go ahead with the abortion.This verdict may effectively have either forced them into penury, forced them into having a child and then giving it up for adoption or forcing a child to grow up with absolutely no quality of life.

In a country where the population problem is threating our progress, I think this is a very very stupid move. Instead of it being a landmark verdict, where the abortion cut-off was raised to 24 weeks, they have basically given a subliminal nod to the populace to go ahead and keep trying.

And we all know, this is the last thing we need. This is one area in which I wish we DON'T over-take China.