SC issues notice on rape victim’s plea for aborting 24-week-old foetus; Hearing tomorrow [Read Order]

The Supreme court today issued notice to the Centre and Maharashtra government on the urgent plea of an alleged rape victim seeking an extra ordinary permission to terminate her 24 week old foetus and said the hearing will take place tomorrow

The foetus suffered from Anencephaly that is, its without major portion of brain, scull and scalp. She had earlier requested doctors to allow her abortion but what stood in the way was section 3 (2) (b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (MTP), the Indian abortion law which prohibits termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks even if there was a fatal risk to the mother and the foetus.

Her lawyers told the bench that the foetus had no chance of surviving. A bench of justices J S Khehar, Kurian Joseph and Arun Mishra has asked the Centre and Maharashtra government to file their replies tomorrow in which they have to take a clear stand. The hearing will be held tomorrow

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves and Satya Mitra had mentioned the matter for urgent hearing, saying that in the present case, the life of the woman is in grave danger. If the woman succeeds, it kindles hope for the lakhs of women forced to give birth to abnormal or stillborn babies every year.

As per a WHO estimate, Out of the 26 million births that occur in India every year, approximately 2-3 per cent foetuses have a severe congenital or chromosomal abnormality.

Human Rights Law Network said in the petition: The 20 week period may have been reasonable when the section as enacted in 1971 but has ceased to be reasonable today where technology has advanced and it is perfectly safe for a woman to abort even up to the 28th week and thereafter”.

“Determination of fetal abnormality in many cases can only be done after the 20th week and by keeping the ceiling artificially low, women who obtain reports of serious fetal abnormality after the 20th week have to suffer excruciating pain and agony on account of the deliveries that they are forced to go through. The ceiling of 20 weeks is therefore arbitrary, harsh and discriminatory and violative of right to equality and right to life of the Constitution”, they said.

FOLOWING ARE THE PRAYERS:

• For a writ of declaration or any other appropriate writ, order or direction quashing section 3(2)(b) of The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 971 to the limited extent that it stipulates a ceiling of 20 weeks for an abortion to be done under section 3, as ultra vires Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India;


• For a writ of declaration or any other appropriate writ, order or direction quashing section 5(1) of the Act to the limited extent that it restricts abortions under section 5 to a restricted field where it is immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman;


• For a declaration to the effect that the expression “save the life of the pregnant woman” in Section 5 of the MTP Act includes “the protection of the mental and physical health of the pregnant woman” and also incorporates situations where serious abnormalities in the fetus are detected after the 20th week of pregnancy.


• For a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the Centre to allow the Petitioner under a Medical Termination of the Pregnancy.


• For a declaration that the rational ceiling for abortions being done under section 3 of the Act is 24 weeks in view of the material placed on record by the Petitioner


• For an order directing Centre to produce the report of MTP Committee which included the Health Secretary, Mr. Naresh Dayal, former Director­ General of the Indian Council of Medical Research and Dr. N K Ganguly as its members.


• For an order directing the Centre to provide necessary directions to the hospital for setting up an expert panel of doctors to assess the pregnancy and offer MTP to at least women and girls who are survivors of sexual violence and have passed the period of 20 weeks.