Abortion isn’t going anywhere.
In Episode 6 of Atypical Dikkatein Season 2, we speak with Vinitha, a Bahujan queer feminist researcher, about why abortion rights must be seen as central to bodily autonomy and reproductive justice.
From the gaps in India’s SRHR movement to the rise of anti-choice narratives, this episode unpacks how abortion continues to be stigmatized, even within feminist spaces, and why stronger, intersectional movements are urgently needed.
You can check out the podcast transcript here.
Some Data Points and Helpful Links:
1. A Foundation for Reproductive Health Services study found 32% of respondents were unaware of abortion as a legal right, and that 95.5% of Indian women were uninformed of the existence of the MTP (Amendment) Act, 2021.
2. According to the Rural Health Statistics (2019-20), released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in May 2021, there was a shortfall of almost 70% for obstetricians and gynaecologists, which severely limits women’s access to safe abortion services
3. 2 million adolescents lack access to contemporary abortion services, 78% abortions performed for adolescents were unsafe, 190,000 adolescents don’t receive post-abortion care.
4. Every day, at least 8 women in the country die as a result of unsafe abortion-related causes, making it the third leading cause of maternal death (https://www.guttmacher.org/report/abortion-unintended-pregnancy-six-states-india)
5. Population, Eugenics and Reproductive Rights: Legalising Abortion in India (by Mytheli Sreenivas): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00856401.2024.2412468
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Graphic by: Harshvardhan Bhaskar and Khushi (Kay) Solanki
Transcript by: Khushi (Kay) Solanki
Sound editing and production by: Pranjal Pathak
