Chennai: The Doctors’ Association for Social Equality has criticized the TN assembly speaker J C D Prabhakar and called his views against abortion as an infringement upon women’s rights.Association general secretary Dr G R Ravindranath said women have the legal right to undergo abortion under the law enacted in India in 1971, and that the Supreme Court has also recognised this right. He said the speaker’s participation in a religious campaign against abortion and his remarks opposing the practice were contrary to the country’s laws and women’s rights.“Abortions are performed for various reasons, including when physical abnormalities are detected in the fetus or when a woman’s health is at risk. Given the varied circumstances under which abortions are performed, speaking against the practice is unacceptable,” he said.Ravindranath added that attempts to prevent abortions could push women towards illegal procedures, endangering their lives.He added that the plan to implement the gold ring distribution scheme through doctors should be abandoned, and that doctors were already burdened with a heavy workload.The criticism comes days after Prabhakar participated in a ‘March for Life’, a pro-life rally held at a college in the city.
