In a rare judgment, the Bombay High Court allowed an 18-year-old girl’s plea for medical termination of her 26-week pregnancy considering her socio-economic status.
“In the facts and circumstances, compelling the petitioner, a girl of tender age, to have an unwanted child may lead to disastrous consequences for the rest of her life, not only for the petitioner, but for the entire family,” a bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Madhav Jamdar said on Wednesday, Times of India reported.
In an order passed on Wednesday, a bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Madhav Jamdar permitted the petitioner to medically terminate her pregnancy, after holding that in deciding the impact of the pregnancy on the woman’s mental health, courts must also take into account her actual foreseeable environment.
The girl had said that the continuation of pregnancy would adversely affect her mental health. The court permitted the woman to undergo the termination procedure at JJ Hospital in the city.
Following the High Court’s previous directions, a panel of doctors at the state-run JJ Hospital examined the woman, who had sought permission for an abortion, citing that she was unmarried and not in a position to carry the foetus to full term.
Doctors informed the court that the foetus did not have any medical anomalies, and further said that while the woman had a mild case of depression, if she sought treatment for it, the pregnancy will not pose any risks to her physical or mental health.
The current Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act does not permit termination of a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks unless it poses health risks for the foetus and the mother. Appellate courts, including the Bombay High Court, however, have previously batted for women’s mental health on several occasions and permitted termination of a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks if the condition posed any risk to their mental health, and if a medical panel so advises. An amendment to the Act, which is yet to be implemented, extends the time frame to 24 weeks.
Read all the Latest News , Breaking News and IPL 2022 Live Updates here.
Comments
0 comment