consent was material, unless she was a minor or mentally ill. it also stated that "every pregnant woman has the intrinsic right to choose to undergo or not to undergo abortion without any consent or authorization from a third party" and that a woman is the only and "ultimate decision-maker on the question of whether she wants to undergo an abortion." on the topic of the difference between the gestation period considered legal for married and unmarried women -- 24 weeks for the former and 20 weeks for the latter -- the court ruled that the distinction was discriminatory, artificial, unsustainable and in violation of article 14 of the constitution of india, and that "all women are entitled to the benefit of safe and legal abortion." on the subject of pregnancies resulting from marital rape, the court ruled that women can seek an abortion in the term of 20 to 24 weeks under the ambit of "survivors of sexual assault or rape". studies on abortion: a bibliography singh, susheela et al. 2018. the incidence of abortion and unintended pregnancy in india, 2015. the lancet. 6(1): e111-e120.stillman, melissa., jennifer j. frost, susheela singh, ann m. moore and shveta kalyanwala. 'abortion in india: a literature review'. december 2014. guttmacher institute. desai, sheila., marjorie crowell, gilda sedgh and susheela singh. characteristics of women obtaining induced abortions in selected low- and middle- income countries. march 2017. guttmacher institute. vol. 12, issue 3. global, regional, and national levels of maternal mortality, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2015. 8 october 2016. the lancet. vol. 388, no. 10053. pp. 1775–1812. iyengar, kirti., sharad d. iyengar and kristina gemzell danielsson. can india transition from informal abortion provision to safe and formal services? june 2016. the lancet. vol. 4, no. 6. e357-e358. abortion incidence between 1990 and 2014: global, regional, and subregional levels and trends. 16 july 2016. the lancet. vol. 388, no. 10041. pp. 258–267. foster, diana greene. unmet need for abortion and woman-centered contraceptive care. 16 july 2016. the lancet. vol. 388, no. 10041. pp. 216–217. global causes of maternal death: a who systematic analysis. june 2014. the lancet. vol. 2, no. 6. e323-e333. reproductive health, and child health and nutrition in india: meeting the challenge. 22 january 2011. the lancet. vol. 377, no. 9762. pp. 332–349. unsafe abortion: the preventable pandemic. 25 november 2006. the lancet. vol. 368, no. 9550. pp. mifepristone abortion outside the urban research hospital setting in india. 13 january 2001. vol. 357, no. 9250. pp. 120–122. mayall, katherine, remez, lisa and singh, susheela. global developments in laws on induced abortion: 2008–2019. international perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, 2020, vol. 46, no. supplement 1, focus on abortion (2020), pp. 53–65. chandrashekar, vs; vajpeyi, a. and sharma, k. availability of medical abortion drugs in the markets of four indian states, 2018. frhs india chandrashekar, vs; choudhuri, d and vajpeyi, a. availability of medical abortion drugs in the markets of six indian states, 2020. frhs india rastogi, anubha and chandrashekar, raunaq. assessing the judiciary's role in access to safe abortion: an analysis of supreme court and high court judgements in india from june 2016-april 2019. 28 september 2019. rastogi, anubha. assessing the judiciary's role in access to safe abortion ii: an analysis of supreme court and high court judgements in india from may 2019-august 2020. 23 september 2020. chandrasekaran, s., chandrashekar, v. s., dalvie, s. and sinha, a. the case for the use of telehealth for abortion in india. sexual and reproductive health matters. volume 29, 2022 – issue 2: south asian region. published online 2 june 2021. compromised abortion access due to covid-19 : a model to determine impact of covid-19 on women's access to abortion. ipas development foundation. 28 may 2020. chandrashekar, v.s. and sagar, a. impact of covid-19 on india's family planning program. frhs india. may 2020. yokoe r, rowe r, choudhury ss, rani a, zahir f, nair m. unsafe abortion and abortion-related death among 1.8 million women in india. bmj glob health. 2019 may 2;4(3):e001491. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001491. pmid 31139465; pmcid: pmc6509605. recent news on abortion 6 february 2017, dna: 'mum's not the only word' 25 february 2017, the hindu: 'twenty-week abortion deadline adds more pain to rape victims' 27 february 2017, the indian express: 'the responsibility of choice' 28 march 2017, business standard: 'behaviour change can improve knowledge about safe abortions' 31 march 2017, the times of india: 'give women the choice: why the 20-week abortion limit must be relaxed in case of foetal abnormalities' 1 april 2017, outlook: 'whose womb is it?' 4 april 2017, the indian express: 'medical termination of pregnancy act needs changes, it can traumatize women' 16 april 2017, deccan chronicle: 'discourse: returning women their body' 11 may 2017, the wire: 'india's abortion laws need to change and in the pro-choice direction' 13 may 2017, deccan herald: 'unfulfilled commitment' 17 may 2017, the hindu: 'draft medical termination of pregnancy (amendment) bill, 2014' 17 may 2017, hindustan times: 'googling, taking abortions pills at home sounds like a bad idea, but it isn't: study' 18 may 2017, the indian express: 'teenage abortion: law forces them to keep it a secret as system lacks adolescent sex education' 26 may 2017, the asian age: 'pregnancy act amendments on hold' 1 august 2017, hindustan times: 'health ministry to keep amendment on allowing abortion in 24 weeks unchanged' 6 august 2017, the week: '10 and mum' 6 august 2017, the week: 'failure to deliver' 7 august 2017, the week: 'accessible abortion' 7 august 2017, the times of india: 'need to change law banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy: doctors' 25 august 2017, the week: 'in mp, poor women bear rising costs of abortion' 7 september 2017, the week: 'abortion law: india needs a holistic approach' 12 september 2017, quartz: 'women's bodies are under attack: the alarming reality of reproductive rights in india and the us' 13 september 2017, the new indian express: 'safe abortions still a dream in india' 14 september 2017, the telegraph: 'ticking away' 23 september 2017, the new indian express: 'let's talk abortion' 24 september 2017, ndtv: 'abortion laws: caught in a time warp?' 27 september 2017, the wire: 'untangling the legal knots on reproductive rights is a step towards helping indian women' 29 september 2017, the india saga: '25 million unsafe abortions were performed globally between 2010 and 2014, the lancet' 2 october 2017, dna: 'ten die every day due to unsafe abortions in india' 5 october 2017, the times of india: 'abortions may be legal in india, but 60% are unsafe: study' 8 october 2017, the hindu: 'self-managing abortions safely' 21 october 2017, the print: 'mtp act amendments: fear of foeticide may be trumping women's reproductive rights' 21 october 2017, dna: 'aadhaar, a problem for women seeking abortions' 8 november 2017, scroll: 'government doctors are being trained to help women in india get safe and legal abortions' 10 november 2017, mint: 'abortion comes at a steep price in india' 25 november 2017, the hindustan times: 'safe abortions: why india needs more trained providers' 28 november 2017, the week: 'ayush docs, paramedics may not be allowed to perform abortions' 5 december 2017, the indian express: 'what's wrong with india's abortion laws?' 5 december 2017, the better india: 'once progressive our 46-year-old abortion law needs move with the times' 9 december 2017, the pioneer: 'it's time to amend our abortion law' 28 july 2019, the times of india: 'amend the mtp act: current version is archaic and causes needless suffering to pregnant women' 30 september 2019, the quint: 'after a week's delay, court allows 26-week pregnant women to abort' 29 january 2020, india's cabinet passed a bill to give women more time to get an abortion which extended abortion deadline from 20 weeks up to 24 weeks. 13 july 2020, the guardian: 'women always take the brunt': india sees surge in unsafe abortion' 11 august 2020, mint: 'several states face shortage of medical abortion pills' 22 september 2020, outlook: 'high courts witnessing surge in abortion cases: report' 4 november 2020, the news minute: 'how stigma over abortion denies women important legal right' 24 november 2020, the telegraph india: 'rights over prejudice: mtp amendment bill' 31 january 2021, the hindu: 'medical board on abortion 'unfeasible', says study' 29 january 2021, ians live: medical boards for access to abortion untenable: ground report 4 february 2021, the leaflet: 'medical boards under mtp bill will make abortion inaccessible' 11 february 2021, the hindu: 'denying women the right over their bodies' 16 march 2021, the hindu: 'parliament proceedings | rajya sabha passes the medical termination of pregnancy bill' 7 april 2021, the hindu: 'abortion is a woman's right to decide'