Doctor slams over-the-counter abortion pill culture

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A Bengaluru woman on Tuesday died after consuming an over-the-counter abortion pill bringing the topic of access to safe abortions back into discussion.

The Apex court recently made a landmark judgement and extended the right to safe and legal abortion up to 24 weeks to unmarried and single women, saying it is the right of every woman to make reproductive choices without interference from the state.

Dr Anu Sridhar, Senior Consultant in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Fortis Hospital taking note of the incident said, “This is absolutely unpardonable to happen in a country like ours, where we have laws that are pro-abortion and women fortunately have the right to choose whether to continue with the pregnancy or not.''

She added that it is very important for this particular right to remain with the woman as the aftermath of pregnancy and child bearing is entirely dealt with by her, especially considering her body conduciveness. “There should not be any stigma if a lady decides to terminate her pregnancy, however, this must happen within the boundaries of clinical care and must be done safely,” she explained.

The police identified the deceased as Priti Kushwaha, a 33-year-old employee of an e-commerce company in the city. Kushwaha, who also has an 11-monthold son, found out last Saturday that she was pregnant after taking a home pregnancy test. However, since she already has an infant boy, she did not want another child.

When she informed her husband, Devbrath who works as a software engineer in the city, he insisted that they visit a hospital to get the procedure done. Refusing to do so, Priti reportedly consumed overthe-counter abortion pills, without any medical supervision.

On Monday, after bleeding profusely, Priti informed her husband about the same, and refused to visit a hospital. After losing consciousness at her home, she was taken to a hospital where she was declared dead.

“As a society, we must not ostracise women who seek abortions and as clinicians we must guide them properly to undergo the procedure safely and under complete medical supervision,” Dr Sridhar said. The recent Supreme Court judgement must not be seen as a way to look at abortions lightly, she added.

“One must consult their gynaecologist. Certain investigations must be carried out before a termination such as a scan to determine the number of weeks the stage of pregnancy is in. According to the results, specific regiments are used,” she explained. Before seven weeks, outpatient procedures can be carried out, however, after seven weeks it is always advised to take up inpatient procedures.