Environmental Pollution and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: Rethinking India's Abortion Law from a Human Rights Perspective

Abstract

Environmental pollution has emerged as a quite worrisome public health problem and it holds high importance for maternal and fetal health. The study highlights the links between environmental pollution and pregnancy outcomes and also superficially analyses the abortion law in India with the urge to assess it in the light of human rights principles. The research is of doctrine and descriptive design with secondary data sources from journal achievements with peer review system, legal provisions, judicial decisions, government reports and international publications. Qualitative content analysis shows that: Exposure to air pollutants, heavy metals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals are closely related to miscarriage, congenital abnormalities, pre-term birth and fetal growth restriction. The study reveals the current shortcomings of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act on pollution induced reproductive hazards and suggests to incorporate environmental health and reproductive rights or integrate reproductive health with human rights in the law to guarantee the reproductive justice and improved maternal health.