New Delhi. The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow a 26-year-old woman to terminate her pregnancy beyond 32 weeks. The court said that the medical board has accepted that there is no abnormality in the fetus. Let us explain. The woman found out she was pregnant on October 31st of last year, having lost her spouse in October of the previous year. Speaking on behalf of the woman, advocate Amit Mishra stated that having a child will be against her wishes and that she will have to live with the trauma for the rest of her life.
Delhi High Court had earlier given its decision
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Prasanna Bhalchandra Varle refused to interfere with the January 23 order of the Delhi High Court. In fact, in its first decision of January 4, the court had allowed the woman to terminate her 29-week-old fetus.
How can a 32 week fetus be terminated?
While giving the verdict, the bench said, ‘This is a 32 week old fetus. How can this be ended? The medical board has also said that it cannot be abolished. It’s a matter of two weeks, then you can give it up for adoption if you want. The bench said that the High Court has considered each and every point, including the opinion of the medical board. Judge Trivedi said, the medical board has opined that there is no abnormality and it is a normal fetus. It also states that there is no danger to the petitioner if she continues the pregnancy.
The woman was under stress after losing her husband
The woman’s lawyer Mishra argued that the woman is a widow and will have to bear trauma throughout her life and the court should consider her interest. On this Justice Trivedi asked him, ‘Why should we consider only their interests? After this the bench refused to interfere with the High Court order and dismissed the petition.
The High Court had said that the woman can go to AIIMS or any other central or state government hospital for delivery only at 32 weeks of pregnancy and if she is willing to give the newborn for adoption later, the Center will ensure that The process should happen smoothly and quickly. It says that the concerned government will bear all the medical and incidental expenses in the process of delivery.
Attention paid to the opinion of AIIMS Medical Board
On January 4, the court had allowed a widow suffering from depression to terminate her 29-week-old fetus as continuing the pregnancy could affect her mental health. The woman was medically examined at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). AIIMS claimed that it is advisable to continue the pregnancy for the next two-three weeks for the betterment of the health of the mother and child.
In its order, the high court had taken note of the opinion of the AIIMS Medical Board which had said that the woman was suffering from stress and not from any mental symptoms and there was no suggestion that the ongoing pregnancy or delivery would affect her mental health. The effect will be that it will become necessary to terminate the pregnancy. The high court said the medical board had also opined that since the fetus showed no abnormalities, feticide was neither justified nor moral.