Bombay HC permits minor married girl to terminate 28-week pregnancy with foetal anomalies

Mumbai: Taking cognizance of the mental and physical condition of the petitioner, the Bombay High Court recently granted permission to a teenager, a victim of child marriage to undergo medical termination of her 28-week pregnancy on the grounds of foetal anomalies. 

A division bench of Justices PD Naik and NR Borkar in its order dated April 12 noted that medical reports had recommended termination of the pregnancy as the girl also has "HIV seropositive". 

“Considering the fact that Medical Board has noted that Petitioner is 17 years old under age married female… with seropositive status and multiple fetal defects with high likelihood of syndromic association, termination of pregnancy is granted on the basis of mental and medical situation of the patient, we allow the Petitioner to undergo termination of pregnancy,” the bench observed. 

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The 17-year-old girl had filed a petition in high court seeking permission to get her pregnancy terminated saying scans had shown that the foetus had skeletal anomalies with the possibility of genetic abnormalities.  

Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, a court nod is required to terminate a pregnancy beyond 24 weeks of gestation.  

The high court relied on the March 21 report submitted by the medical board of the state-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune that recommended termination of the pregnancy as the girl is a minor and a victim of child marriage with "HIV seropositive status". Moreover, the report also mentioned that the ultrasound conducted on the female revealed fetal abnormalities.   

“Both upper limbs show absent radius bone with hypoplastic ulna Both wrists are in fixed flexed deformity. The left hand shows an absent thumb and the right hand has 5 digits. Suggestive of radial ray anomaly type,” the report reads.

To cross-check the result, another ultrasonography test was conducted on the victim on March 26 at Umarji Mother and Child Care Clinic, Pune which also showed a similar result. The report stated, “possibility of genetic abnormality likely”, as reported by Free Press Journal. 

The report stated that the petitioner is fit for termination of pregnancy. Hence the board recommended the court for the termination of the fetus. 

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