Is pregnancy an unquestionable right of a woman? If a woman thinks she is ready to conceive a child, does someone have a right to stop her? Is there a minimum age for a woman to get pregnant? Does she need to be married to get pregnant?
These are quite academic issues in the Indian context. But going by the way western influences are sweeping India, probably these might become real issues in India too.
In the recent past, in the west there have been a few instances that brought forth these critical issues.
- Three months back, America was stunned by the news that as many as 17 girls of a high school — none of them over 16 years of age — tested positive to pregnancy test. What alarmed the nation, that is known for high teen pregnancies, was that the number 17 was more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. The other worrying point was indications that these girls were celebrating their new status and that they had got into a pact to raise children together. (Source: Time)
- A week back, after Alaskan governor Sarah Palin was announced as the American vice-presidential Republican candidate, news emerged that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol was five months pregnant. The family announced that she would keep the baby and she would marry the man responsible. (Source: BBC)
- Just a few days back, France woke up to the news that their justice minister Rachida Dati, who is not married, was pregnant. She declined who name who the father was and said her personal life was complicated. The whole nation is speculating as to who the man could be. (Source: BBC)
These hit the headlines because of the number of schoolgirls involved or because of the women who were involved. But I am sure there are many more such cases in the west that do not hit the headlines.
Pregnancy is a personal issue of a woman (and a man). Nevertheless, the above cases are unusual. Does a woman, who has physically matured to conceive a child, automatically also have the right to conceive a child? If she is psychologically prepared and has the resources to conceive and bring up a child, does she have the right to go ahead? Does she have to be over a particular age? Should she have to be married to get pregnant?
If the French minister has got pregnant, how should it matter to her people or to the world at large as long as she is no threat to peace and carries out her ministerial responsibilities impeccably?
Don’t trivialise parenthood
I don’t think motherhood (and fatherhood) should be trivialised as a rule. It’s just not the physical ability to bear a child, but also the psychological and emotional preparedness, that should determine if a woman is ready to get pregnant.
It’s different from taking up a job, earning an income and then blowing it up mindlessly. It is different staying away from home and hanging out with friends. It is different from taking the first puffs of cigarette smoke. It’s different from getting drunk. It’s different from “having fun” one night (or many nights) with the sweetheart.
Getting pregnant is different. It involves creating a new life. It is being responsible for someone else’s life, for his or her existence. It’s a serious matter; and getting pregnant isn’t like downing few drinks of Vodka. With so many conveniences in the modern world, and mind-boggling changes in value systems, today’s teenagers shouldn’t blamed for having a casual attitude towards getting pregnant, or making someone pregnant; towards motherhood or fatherhood. They need to educated on this aspect.
For a child, her mother and father are more than just two people who give them food and buy clothes. They bring in values to the children’s lives. Single motherhood (or single fatherhood) is a choice for very few people. For most it’s something that’s forced upon them. The next best thing the mother or father can do is to make sure that the child is not deprived of the other parent.
Not as easy as it sounds, I know. But I say that because there are many seemingly normal families which are as good as completely broken up. Father and mother being married is not as important as the constructive role they play in their families, especially for their children.
All said and done, it’s exceptions rather than rules that make this world exciting. May be there are exceptions which have worked well. Yet, as a rule, I don’t think a woman’s right to get pregnant is absolute; it’s not a mere physical state; more than social, there are emotional and psychological attributes to getting pregnant.
Sands of Change 