New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a woman to abort her 25-week foetus on medical grounds, saying the woman has the right to decide whether she should have a child or not. The apex court said a woman has sacrosanct right over her bodily integrity and that this right is recognized under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The 25-week pregnant woman had filed a plea in the SC praying that she be allowed to undergo an abortion because the foetus has abnormalities which, according to medical advice, could prove fatal to the mother.
While accepting the plea, SC accepted the opinion by a medical board which stated child was likely to be born with serious deformities.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (MTP) restricts an abortion in case of a fetal abnormality to 20 weeks of pregnancy. The government has, for long, been putting breaks on the amendment to MTP Act, arguing that it would give rise to illegal sex selection and abortion rackets.The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has reportedly returned the proposed amendments to the MTP Act to the health ministry and called for stricter implementation of the existing law.
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