New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed an rape survivor to terminate her 24-week-old 'abnormal' foetus after doctors said it would endanger her life.
A bench comprising Justices JS Khehar and Arun Mishra went by the report of the medical board of a Mumbai hospital saying the continuance of pregnancy would gravely endanger the physical and mental health of the mother.
The bench considered the report of the seven-member medical board of King Edward Memorial College and Hospital at Mumbai which said the foetus has multiple severe abnormalities.
This is a landmark case because in India, as per the law, abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy is illegal.
The bench passed the order after taking assistance of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi who said there is a provision in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 which allows the termination of pregnancy after 24 weeks if there is a threat to the life of the mother.
"We grant liberty to the petitioner and if she desires to terminate the pregnancy, she is permitted," the judge said.
The alleged rape survivor has also challenged the constitutional validity of the provisions of the abortion law which prohibits termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks even if there is a fatal risk to the mother and the foetus.
In her petition, the woman said she became pregnant after she was raped by her ex-fiance on the false promise of marriage. She sought a direction to quash section 3 (2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 that puts a ceiling of 20 weeks for an abortion.
Her plea contended that the ceiling is unreasonable, arbitrary, harsh, discriminatory and violative of the right to life and equality.
The woman, who is in 24th week of pregnancy, said she belongs to a poor background and her physical and mental health have been put at risk due to the 20 week limit for abortion as her foetus suffers from anencephaly (a serious birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull).
The plea also said the expression "save the life of the pregnant woman" in Section 5 of the MTP Act, should include "the protection of the mental and physical health of the pregnant woman" and also incorporate situations where serious abnormalities in the foetus are detected after the 20th week of pregnancy.
The apex court is already hearing the plea of Mumbai-based doctor Nikhil D Datar, who had also raised the same issue in 2009 and sought an amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.
(With inputs from PTI)
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