As the U.S. Congress launches one of the most vicious attacks against women’s health in recent history, the Supreme Court of Nepal has officially issued a groundbreaking decision on women's reproductive rights that turns on its head patriarchal notions of the government’s right to interfere in women’s decisions about their bodies. The ruling unequivocally recognizes a woman’s right to abortion as a crucial component of her reproductive rights that cannot be denied by the government without violating a broad range of her human rights.
For centuries Nepal banned abortion under any circumstance – and did not explicitly permit it even to save the life of a woman. Women were routinely thrown into prison for having abortions and many more died in the process. Unsafe abortion was widespread with women desperately seeking to end their pregnancies in order to protect their health, families, and livelihoods. The law and the criminal justice system completely ignored the circumstances surrounding a woman’s pregnancy and decision to have abortion. The ban opened the door for law enforcement officials to arbitrarily classify many abortion cases as “infanticide,” or the murder of a child following birth—a crime that carried heavy criminal penalties. And the women typically targeted were poor. It wasn’t until 2002 that the King of Nepal signed into law a bill permitting abortion under broad grounds, marking the beginning of a number of dramatic steps towards guaranteeing women’s access to safe reproductive health services in the country.
Nepal’s experience, and that of other countries with restrictive abortion laws, clearly illustrate that making abortion illegal does not stop women from seeking abortion, it only results in women endangering their lives to end their pregnancies, particularly those with fewer resources. Indeed, prior to the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, illegal abortion was common in the U.S. Yet 38 years later, federal lawmakers are engaged in an aggressive campaign designed to severely limit women’s access to abortion by making it less affordable and shutting down abortion providers.
Nepal, on the other hand, has learned its lesson and ironically, is being inspired by Roe. Until just a few years ago, the South Asian country was officially the world’s only Hindu kingdom and today, it is a secular state. It is exemplary that in such a short time, people have come to understand the importance of separating religion from governance. As a result, the highest legal authority in the country has issued a bold decision that explicitly recognizes a woman as the master of her own body and the government’s obligation to guarantee safe and affordable access to abortion services.
Here are highlights from the decision:
- It states that just as the law does not force a man to use his body in certain ways, as a matter of equality, a woman cannot be forced to allow her body be used in ways that she does not want.
- It affirms the importance of making sure that women are not unjustly denied access to legal abortion services because of the cost and makes it obligatory for the government to provide free services to women who cannot pay. Access to abortion services, it notes, is a matter of women’s rights and social justice.
- It establishes that the fetus cannot be prioritized over the protection of a woman’s physical and mental health and well-being as, without the mother, there would be no fetus. Pointing to numerous scenarios that would result from legally recognizing the fetus as a human life, the court says it would not be practical to force women into such risky and dangerous situations.
- The decision also briefly mentions Roe noting that the US Supreme Court does not recognize the fetus as a human life.
The court’s ruling revolved around a case involving a mother of five children who decided to have an abortion when she became pregnant for the sixth time. She was extremely poor and did not have the money or resources to even afford contraception. She could barely afford to feed her children with her husband’s meager income. She herself was in very poor health. So, when she became pregnant again, she and her husband went to the nearest hospital to obtain a legal abortion. But she was unable to do so only because she could not pay for it. The doctors asked her for 1130 rupees (approximately $15) which she did not have. As a result, she was forced to carry the pregnancy to term and become a mother for the sixth time.
Hers is not the story of just one woman, but of many women across Nepal and across the world. As such, this is the kind of legal decision that women are in need of everywhere – a decision that wholly recognizes their dignity and human rights.
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cheeser
March 6th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
hes aight,… nuthin new tho.. where are the unique new artists that arent following trends..
concept is cool and kinda new… but noone sings anymore
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Tawny
March 6th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
He’s the future.
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Tony
March 6th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Best song on the album.
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My2Cents
March 6th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Novacane Is Also A GREAT Track.
Brilliant FRESH New Artist.
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La'Wayne
March 6th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
aka Lonny Breaux…He’s off the fuckin chain
this aint his best tho
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DEEPERthanRAP
March 6th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
R&B??? wtf?
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Lil' Nello
March 6th, 2011 at 8:54 pm
Song is pretty good except for the couple parts where he sounds to much like Wiz!
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The Beast
March 6th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
Yonkers was some scary sh*t. I like this though.
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hey
March 6th, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Ciara tweeted about this guy! listen to novacane!
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jaa
March 6th, 2011 at 11:39 pm
‘strawberry swing’ is a devastating song.
same goes for ‘there will be tear’
i like the off center subject matter.
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Leon
March 7th, 2011 at 4:10 am
The world doesn’t need another Drake; the one we have is devoid of worth and significance.
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Douchebag Dude
March 7th, 2011 at 4:16 am
Nobody sings anymore. Even “love songs” arent real love songs. I’d rather these idiots copy Stevie Wonder or other classic artists than the current bs out now.
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AAA
March 7th, 2011 at 5:26 am
I love this song I heard it!!!!!!! So good
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Yes SIR
March 7th, 2011 at 8:05 am
Novocane is a helluva SONG!.. Frank Ocean is my near favorite artist!
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Bernie
March 7th, 2011 at 10:36 am
dam iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit !
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HipHopDiva
March 7th, 2011 at 11:58 pm
his ablum is really good. don’t sleep. check out “we all try” its a beautiful song :) here’s the link youtube.com/watch?v=NtZh_zWEcpY
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