The Supreme Court rejected the plea of a 10-year rape victim to abort her 32-week foetus, based on a medical panel report.
What was the court’s rationale?
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 bars abortion if the foetus has crossed the 20-week mark.
Women who have crossed the 20-week limit need a judicial order to even get medically examined on their plea for abortion.
If a registered medical practitioner certifies to a court that the continued pregnancy is life-threatening for either the mother or the baby, then the court can allow the abortion process.
In this case the SC Bench had directed doctors from P.G.I., Chandigarh, to medically examine the girl and file a report in court.
The court perused the report filed by the doctors and denied permission for an abortion, stating that such a move would endanger the lives of both the girl child and her 32 weeks foetus.
The Act also provides that if any of these medical eventualities is likely to arise, then the mother’s actual or foreseeable environment must also be taken into consideration.
What WHO says in this regard?
The World Health Organisation notes that Legal restrictions on abortion do not result in fewer abortions nor do they result in significant increases in birth rates.
It does not decrease the need for abortion, but it is likely to increase the number of women seeking illegal and unsafe abortions, leading to increased morbidity and mortality.
It also forces many women to seek services in other countries/states, which is costly, delays access and creates social inequities.
Similarly laws and policies that facilitate access to safe abortion do not increase the rate or number of abortions.
The principal effect is to shift previously clandestine, unsafe procedures to legal and safe ones.
What should be done?
Women are forced to undertake the cumbersome process of approaching different courts, from district courts to high courts and finally the Supreme Court.
The Bench urged the government to consider setting up permanent medical boards across the States so that women, especially child rape victims, could receive expedient access to medical care.
In most such cases, the pregnancy is not even discovered until after the 20-week period is over because the children are themselves unaware of their condition
An amended Bill of the 1971 law which extends the bar from 20 to 24 weeks has not been passed for the past three years.
It also allows abortion beyond 24 weeks in case the foetus suffers from substantial abnormalities.
This should be passed keeping in mind the special cases like rape and abnormalities.
