RIGHT TO PRIVACY OF OWN BODY

RIGHT TO PRIVACY OF OWN BODY

Privacy is a man's utmost privilege in a civilized society. In the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, one of the thirty articles providing for the basic rights of every human being is the Right to Privacy. These documents, although not legally binding, have formed the basis of the laws of many nations. Nevertheless, the issue of Right to Privacy has always been the backbone of many heated debates. When the question of the constitution arises, there is no fundamental right to privacy per se. However, Article 19(1)(a) provides for the Freedom of Speech, and Article 21 talks about the Right to Life and Personal Liberty. Even though they are subject to the restriction placed by the government, they still provide the right to privacy, albeit in an adjacent manner. The Honorable Supreme Court recently saw the case of Justice KS Puttaswamy(Retd) and Anr v.Union of India and Ors. In its landmark judgement, the Apex Court asserted that barring a few reasonable restrictions, the Right to Privacy is, in fact, a fundamental right. Having regard to judicial decision, the right to privacy is protected in accordance with Article 21 of the Indian Constitution as an integral part of life and personal liberties. It is enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India as a fundamental right to be given to every person.

Privacy is an essential ingredient of modern dignity. It is linked to other freedoms, like that of association, and speech. The latter two are essential for the development of any democratic nation. The lawmakers of India have viewed this right to be indisputably mandatory, and consider that every person has the right to lead their life according to their wishes. The breach of privacy can be caused in multiple ways. Even when someone says blasphemous things about the other- it may be counted as a breach of privacy. In this article, we shall look at how Right to Privacy applies to one’s body. Unfortunately, even in the times of today, one’s right to privacy over his/her own body is often brought into question.

Body Autonomy

Essentially, bodily autonomy is the power to choose. It means that, without the fear of repercussions from anyone else, one has the right to choose how they want to use their body and operate it. Jurists and philosophers have always called it a human right. Body Autonomy branches further out to the 'Consent' definition. Consent is the voluntary consent, without any interference or intimidation from the other side, of all parties involved in any kind of sexual encounter. Rape / molestation / harassment can amount to the absence of consent. In addition, Body Autonomy also involves family planning, namely: whether or not they want to have a child(s), how many, etc. It is also deeply embedded in every person's sexual orientation and their belief / non-belief in the binary form of sexual orientation. Thus, body autonomy laws apply, among others, to abortion laws, marriage laws, gender identity laws, and even medicine-related laws. The doctrine of body autonomy derives from the right to life and personal liberty. The latter embeds the right to privacy in itself, which, in turn, branches out to body autonomy. The Supreme Court has spoken extensively about this autonomy time and again.

Right to abort a Pregnancy

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTPA), 1971 act allows the termination of a pregnancy as a reproductive right. Abortion is also accepted by the Act to be subordinate to gender justice. India is one of the few countries now to accept that and join the liberal club. The maximum duration of pregnancy to be aborted was previously 20 weeks (approximately 5 months); this bar has been increased to 24 weeks (approximately 6 months) with the update. This concept could involve minor rape / assault survivors and women with various abilities. This Act has never historically extended to a married couple. However, unmarried couples will vote for it, too, after the amendment. This amendment has laid the groundwork for a modern, forward-thinking India that encourages people to make their own choices, rather than making the law look at them. Pro-choice is the term used to define people who believe that pregnancy is the individual right of a woman, and advocate for minimal restrictions placed on the same by the government.

Right to Refuse Medical Treatment

The right to say no to medical treatment(s) is another element of body autonomy. Many countries around the world allow the patient to refuse medical care, provided that all information about his condition and treatment has been provided to him, and he has given informed consent. It is important to give patients choice in cases where they want treatment for religious reasons, or to escape prolonged suffering by the use of end-of-care treatment, or even for financial reasons. Critics, however, argue that whether a person's condition is a danger to society, or whether he / she is of changed mental status, or a minor, it must never be permitted. Refusal must be given only if the person in question recognizes the implications of his acts and is solely responsible for them.

Right to Consensual Homosexual Activity

The right to privacy over one's own body often applies to a person's right to have a consensual sexual relationship with someone he or she wishes to have. Except in developed countries, the world has come far from the time when anti-sodomy laws existed in order to give the government the power to control the things occurring within the four walls of a building. Nevertheless, thanks to LGBTQ+ community leaders, things have improved, but there is still a long path to be paved.

Nevertheless, radical thought is obvious in the case of India. The LGBTQ+ community 's rights were extended exponentially in 2018. The Supreme Court, headed by the then Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, decriminalized homosexual relations of a consensual nature in the case of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018), by striking down a portion of Section 377 of the Constitution of India. This led to the freedom, irrespective of gender, sex, preference or sexuality, of individuals from the aforementioned group to marry and/or have consensual relations without any legal ramifications.

The right to privacy relates to the notion of physical integrity, the self-ownership of one's own mind and body, and the choice of how to work. The right to privacy to remain preserved in a constitution is inviolable by this definition. This is only further advanced by agreements and treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These international documents, not only limited to physical integrity, also consider mental integrity and campaign against torture and inhumane/ degrading punishments and slavery / bonded labour / forced labour.

BY:-

RAKSHA SINGHAL