Supreme Court Defers Medical Termination Of 26 Weeks Pregnant Woman After Board Flags Possibility Of Foeticide

On Monday, the Supreme Court bench led by Justice Kohli granted permission to the petitioner, a mother of two children, to undergo a medical termination of her pregnancy. The decision was made upon recognizing her struggle with depression and her inability to support a third child emotionally, financially, and mentally.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 10 October 2023 1:32 pm

Supreme Court

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, to postpone the medical termination of a 26-week pregnancy for a married woman. This decision came a day after another bench had previously allowed her to terminate the pregnancy.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, requested the reconsideration of the order issued by a bench consisting of Justices Hima Kohli and BV Nagarathna on Monday.

The government's legal representative argued that the decision to terminate the pregnancy had been made despite the medical board's opinion that the fetus had a viable chance of survival and that “they would have to conduct a foeticide”.

“Can you come with a formal application for recall (of the order). We will place before the bench which passed the order. The AIIMS doctors are in a very serious dilemma... I will constitute a bench tomorrow morning. Please ask AIIMS to hold for now,” a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said. ?

On Monday, the bench headed by Justice Kohli had allowed the petitioner, a mother of two, to proceed with medical termination of pregnancy after taking note that she was suffering from depression and was not in a position to raise a third child, emotionally, financially and mentally.?

"This Court does recognise the right of a woman over her body and the fact that if an unwarranted pregnancy results in a child being brought into the world, a large part of the responsibility of rearing such a child will fall on the shoulder of the petitioner, which at this point she doesn't consider herself fit for," the bench had said.

On October 5, the Supreme Court instructed AIIMS?to form a medical board to evaluate the medical condition of a woman who was more than 25 weeks pregnant at the time.

The woman, citing medical reasons such as postpartum depression, has approached the Supreme Court seeking its permission for a pregnancy termination.

A bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and B V Nagarathna directed the woman from Delhi to appear before the medical board on Friday. The bench scheduled the next hearing for October 9, during which the termination of pregnancy was permitted.

Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, the upper limit for the termination of pregnancy is 24 weeks for married women, special categories including survivors of rape, and other vulnerable women such as the differently-abled and minors.