In the progression of stages toward unintended lives, the two stops on either side of abortion—contraception and infanticide—have been studied extensively by historians of South Asia. We know much less about abortion, particularly during the colonial period. Drawing upon published judgments, unpublished case records, forensic toxicology reports, and treatises on Indian medical jurisprudence, this article suggests that anti-abortion law was generally enforced in colonial India only when women died as a result of illegal abortions. This approach was contrary to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalized most abortions even when the women survived. The pattern was a continuation of the pre-IPC approach in India. This article explores possible explanations for the lax enforcement of anti-abortion law in South Asia during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, considering abortion as experienced by South Asian and British women alike. It proposes as contributing factors: challenges in detection, the social movement for the protection of Hindu widows, colonial anxieties about false allegations of abortion among South Asians, the common phenomenon of imperial (British) husbands and wives living apart, and physicians’ desire to protect doctor–patient confidentiality. The article focuses on two key cases involving abortion: the Whittaker-Templeton case from Hyderabad (1896–1902) in which a British woman died following an abortion; and the Parsi matrimonial case of T. v. T. from Bombay (1927), in which a Zoroastrian woman alleged that her pharmacist husband had forced her to terminate three pregnancies by ingesting drugs.

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南亚的堕胎，1860-1947：法医史

南亚历史学家对堕胎的两个阶段——避孕和杀婴——进行了广泛的研究。我们对堕胎知之甚少，尤其是在殖民时期。根据已发表的判决、未发表的案件记录、法医毒理学报告和有关印度医学法学的论文，本文表明，只有在妇女因非法堕胎而死亡时，反堕胎法才在印度殖民地普遍执行。这种做法与印度刑法典 (IPC) 背道而驰，该法典将大多数堕胎定为犯罪，即使女性幸存下来也是如此。该模式是印度前 IPC 方法的延续。本文探讨了对 19 世纪末和 20 世纪初南亚反堕胎法执行不力的可能解释，考虑到南亚和英国妇女都经历过堕胎。它提出了促成因素：检测方面的挑战、保护印度教寡妇的社会运动、殖民者对南亚人堕胎虚假指控的焦虑、帝国（英国）夫妻分居的普遍现象以及医生希望保护医患机密。本文重点关注两个涉及堕胎的关键案例：来自海得拉巴的 Whittaker-Templeton 案（1896-1902 年），其中一名英国妇女在堕胎后死亡；和 Parsi 婚姻案件 考虑到南亚和英国女性都经历过的堕胎。它提出了促成因素：检测方面的挑战、保护印度教寡妇的社会运动、殖民者对南亚人堕胎虚假指控的焦虑、帝国（英国）夫妻分居的普遍现象以及医生希望保护医患机密。本文重点关注两个涉及堕胎的关键案例：来自海得拉巴的 Whittaker-Templeton 案（1896-1902 年），其中一名英国妇女在堕胎后死亡；和 Parsi 婚姻案件 考虑到南亚和英国女性都经历过的堕胎。它提出了促成因素：检测方面的挑战、保护印度教寡妇的社会运动、殖民者对南亚人堕胎虚假指控的焦虑、帝国（英国）夫妻分居的普遍现象以及医生希望保护医患机密。本文重点关注两个涉及堕胎的关键案例：来自海得拉巴的 Whittaker-Templeton 案（1896-1902 年），其中一名英国妇女在堕胎后死亡；和 Parsi 婚姻案件 皇室（英国）夫妻分居的普遍现象，以及医生保护医患隐私的愿望。本文重点关注两个涉及堕胎的关键案例：来自海得拉巴的 Whittaker-Templeton 案（1896-1902 年），其中一名英国妇女在堕胎后死亡；和 Parsi 婚姻案件 皇室（英国）夫妻分居的普遍现象，以及医生保护医患隐私的愿望。本文重点关注两个涉及堕胎的关键案例：来自海得拉巴的 Whittaker-Templeton 案（1896-1902 年），其中一名英国妇女在堕胎后死亡；和 Parsi 婚姻案件T.诉T.来自孟买（1927），其中一名琐罗亚斯德教妇女声称她的药剂师丈夫通过服用药物强迫她终止了三个妊娠。