‘Courts can’t force unwanted pregnancy’: SC allows termination of Mumbai girl’s 30-week pregnancy
A Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said reproductive autonomy of the pregnant girl must be given due weight as she has clearly expressed her unwillingness to continue the pregnancy
Maintaining that courts cannot compel a woman, much less a minor, to continue an unwanted pregnancy against her will, the Supreme Court on Friday allowed medical termination of a 30-week pregnancy of a teenage girl who conceived when she was a minor.
Setting aside a Bombay High Court order, a Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said reproductive autonomy of the pregnant girl must be given due weight as she has clearly expressed her unwillingness to continue the pregnancy.
“If the interest of the mother is to be taken note of, then her reproductive autonomy must be given sufficient emphasis. The court cannot compel any woman, much less a minor child, to complete her pregnancy if she is otherwise not intending to do so,” the Bench said.
It directed JJ Hospital, Mumbai, to conduct the procedure for medical termination of the minor’s pregnancy under necessary medical safeguards.
Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, the upper limit for termination of pregnancy is 24 weeks for married women, special categories, including survivors of rape and other vulnerable women, such as those differently abled and minors.
In exceptional cases where the mother’s life is in danger, or the fetus is abnormal, the 24-week time limit can be breached. However, the Supreme Court has, in several cases, permitted termination of pregnancy beyond the statutory period.
Acknowledging that it was difficult for it to take a call on the issue, the Bench wondered if she could terminate at 24 weeks, why not at 30 weeks?
“Ultimately, she (the pregnant minor) doesn’t want to continue the pregnancy. The Bottom line is she doesn’t want to give birth, that’s the difficulty,” it said.
“What has to be considered in the instant case is the right of the minor child to continue a pregnancy which is ex facie illegitimate since she is a minor and has to face this unfortunate situation of having the pregnancy owing to a relationship that she had,” the top court said.
“The issue is not whether the relationship was consensual or whether it was a case of sexual assault. Ultimately, the fact is that the child to be is not legitimate, and secondly, the mother to be of the child does not want to bear the child,” it noted.
