Kerala High Court Allows Medical Termination Of 26 Weeks Pregnancy Of Minor Rape Victim

Justice P V Asha of held that as per section 5 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, it is allowed to terminate pregnancy beyond the gestation period of 20 weeks, where it is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. T

The court also relied on a host of precedents of A V. Union of India: (2018)4 SCC 75; Sarmishtha Chakrabortty v. Union of India: (2018) 13 SCC 339; among others, where the Apex Court stepped in for the safety of the woman and allowed for the medical termination of pregnancy although the gestational period was around 25-26 weeks. The Supreme Court had repeatedly upheld the medical termination where it was found that there existed threat of severe mental injury to the woman and multiple complex problems to the child, if born alive.

In this case too, the Kerala High Court noted that in view of the trauma that the minor girl has undergone, she is not prepared to deliver a child in this situation.  It was also the opinion of the medical board that the continuance of pregnancy shall cause high risk and post traumatic stress disorders to the minor girl. Therefore, the court directed the Superintendent of Government Medical College, Kottayam to see that the termination of pregnancy of the minor girl- the 3rd petitioner is undertaken by competent doctors under his/her supervision, at the earliest point of time, if possible, today itself. It was further directed, in accordance with the judgement in XYZ v. Union of India and Others :(2019 (3) Bom. CR 400) that :-

if the child is born alive, despite the attempts at medical termination of the pregnancy, the doctors shall ensure that everything, which is reasonably possible and feasible in the circumstances and in contemplation of the law prescribed for the purpose, is offered to such child so that he/ she develops into a healthy child.