New Delhi: On a landmark decision, the Supreme Court (SC)
on Monday has allowed a Mumbai based rape victim to abort her 24-week foetus. The
permission is followed by a statement by doctors who said that the deformed
foetus can cause life-risk to mother. Also, the sentence of abortion to the
6-month old pregnancy relaxed ‘the 20-weeks of legal restrictions on abortions.’
The Justice bench of Justices J.S. Khehar and Arun Mishra,
went through a confidential medical report, of the 26-year-old woman, who was
identified as ‘Miss X’. The report was produced to the court by a team of seven
doctors of Mumbai’s K.E.M Hospital, following directions of the apex court. The
report emphasized on mental and physical distresses of the mother due to
pregnancy resulted from rape.
Reports are that the young woman has gone through excruciating
mental agony due to rape and pregnancy. Plus with the abnormalities, there are
little chances of the baby to survive post birth.
The young mother was raped by her boyfriend who promised to
marry her and is now married to another woman. The victim, who is from a poor
family, told the court that the pregnancy caused due to rape is attached with
social stigmas and other agonies and that she cdont want to give birth to the
child. However, ‘Miss X’ had filed rape charges against her former fiancé.
According to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act,
1971, a woman can terminate her pregnancy till 20 weeks, seeking exact
abnormalities of the foetus. In most of the countries, the period is limited to
20 weeks.
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