Delhi High Court Allows Medical Termination Of Pregnancy For Woman In Live-In-Relationship

The Delhi High Court has recently permitted a 27-year-old woman, a single mother abandoned by her husband, to undergo medical termination of a 22-week pregnancy arising from a live-in relationship.

Justice Sanjeev Narula reiterated that a pregnant woman's bodily autonomy and right of self-determination is an intrinsic part of her fundamental rights enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The woman got married in 2016 and a baby girl was born in 2017. Later, her husband abandoned her and the daughter. It was the woman's case that the whereabouts of her husband were not known to her.

She sought termination of her pregnancy arguing that it was unwanted as it arose from a live-in-relationship. She said she was concerned about the social stigma and ostracization she would have to face.

It was also her case that she was from a poor background and had serious financial constraints due to which she could not raise and nurture a second child.

Allowing the plea, the court said the law rightly categorizes the petitioner woman among those women who are entitled to seek a medical termination of pregnancy even beyond the 20-week threshold, up to 24 weeks.

“This intent of the MTP Act and Rules, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, accommodates the profound impact of such life changes on a woman's ability to sustain a pregnancy, thereby upholding her reproductive rights under altered personal conditions,” the court said.

It noted that the woman's medical report furnished by AIIMS medical board said that no congenital anomalies were detected in the foetus but it did not address whether the continuation of the pregnancy posed a risk to her physical or mental health.

“The Petitioner has made it clear that she is already struggling to financially take care of her first child, even working multiple jobs to sustain her child and herself. As such, the reasonably foreseeable environment of the Petitioner should have been factored in by the medical board in their opinion of the physical and mental health of the Petitioner,” the court said.

It concluded that the continuation of the ongoing pregnancy of the woman posed a risk to her mental well-being considering the reasonably foreseeable environment for both her and the unborn child.

Title: MRS C v. THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT, GOVT OF NCT OF DELHI & ORS

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