INTERPRETATION OF THE PROBLEM OF ABORTION: THE ISSUE OF FOETUS-KILLING IN THE ...

260 Pages·2015·9.46 MB·English

INTERPRETATION OF THE PROBLEM OF ABORTION: THE
ISSUE OF FOETUS-KILLING IN THE LIGHT OF TRADITIONAL
AND CONTEMPORARY ETHICS

A thesis submitted to Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

By
Tejasha Kalita
Roll No. 07614101

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Guwahati 781039

January 2013
TH-1177_07614101
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Dedicated to
My Parents and Husband

TH-1177_07614101
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Guwahati 781039
Assam, India

Declaration

I, hereby, declare that the thesis entitled “Interpretation of the Problem of Abortion:
the Issue of Foetus Killing in the Light of Traditional and Contemporary Ethics” is
the result of investigation carried out by me in the Department of Humanities and Social
Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India under the supervision of Dr.
Archana Barua.

In keeping with the general practice of reporting observations, due acknowledgement has

been made wherever the work described is based on the findings of other investigations.

Tejasha Kalita

January 2013
iv

TH-1177_07614101
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Department of Humanities & Social
Sciences

Guwahati - 781 039
(Assam), INDIA
Dr. Archana Barua Phone: [phone]
Professor Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected]

Certificate

This is to certify that the thesis entitled “Interpretation of the Problem of Abortion: the
Issue of Foetus Killing in the Light of Traditional and Contemporary Ethics” submitted
by Ms. Tejasha Kalita for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy in the
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
embodies bonafide record of research work carried out under my supervision and guidance.
The collection of materials from the secondary sources has also been done by Ms Tejasha
Kalita herself.

The present thesis or any part thereof has not been submitted to any other University for
award of any degree or diploma.

All assistance received by the researcher has been duly acknowledged.

Dr. Archana Barua

Supervisor

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Acknowledgement

First of all I offer my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Archana Barua, of Indian
Institute of Technology Guwahati for her help in pursuing my research at Indian Institute of
Technology Guwahati. She has made her precious time generously available to me for
questions and discussions. Her valuable inputs and comments have been immensely helpful
over the period of this research work. The secondary data collection and analysis and
interpretative work too would not have been possible without her encouragement.
My sincere thanks are also due to the management of the libraries of North Eastern Hills
University, Shillong; North Eastern Council, Shillong; Gauhati University, Gauhati ; Indian
Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati; Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change
and Development, Guwahati; for their necessary guidance and help.
I would also like to express my gratitude to a few eminent scholars for their advice and
comments in various stages of my research work. These include Prof. Saurav Pran Goswami,
Gauhati University; Dr, Juthika Das, Associate Professor, Handique Girls’ College; Dr.
Kanan Bhuyan Hazarika, Rtd. Faculty, Handique Girls’ College; Professor Krishna Barua,
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati; Dr. Prabhu Venkataraman, Indian Institute of
Technology Guwahati; Dr. Sukanya Sharma, Institute of Technology Guwahati.
I am thankful to some of the research scholars of Dept. of HSS, IIT Guwahati namely
Ashimaba, Pallaviba, Pankaj, Mamta, Kalpana, Madhriba, Debarthada, Jituda Gopalda,
Tanujaba, Minakshi and my friends from IIT Guwahati Biju, Banasri and Tribedi. I am
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particularly indebted to my parents, in-laws and my two younger sisters for inspiring me to
carry out this work. Last, but not the least, I would also like to thank my husband Parag for
his support, help and understanding over all the years while I was pursing my research work.

Tejasha Kalita
Research Scholar
Department of HSS, IIT Guwahati

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Contents

Page No.
I. Declaration iv
II. Certificate v
III. Acknowledgement vi
IV. Contents viii
V. List of Tables xiv
VII. Abstract xvi
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background of the Study 1
1.2 Scientific Definition of Abortion 3
1.3 Brief History of Abortion 5
1.3.1 Prehistory to 5th century 5
1.3.2 5th century to 18th century 5
1.3.3 19th century onwards 6

1.4 Philosophical Interpretation of the Problem 7
1.5 Factors of Abortion 11
1.5.1 Factors of Abortion and the Role of Science 13
1.6 Review of Literature 13
1.6.1 Literature Related to Sex-selective Abortion and Indian 13
Legal Position
1.6.2 Literature Related to Law and Abortion 16
1.6.3 Literature Related to Religious of Abortion 17
1.6.4 Selected Literature Related to the Moral dimension 19
of Abortion
1.7 Research Gap and the Statement of the Problem 34
1.8 Objectives of the Study 35
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