Delhi HC permits rape survivor to terminate 29-week pregnancy

The Delhi High Court has permitted termination of a 29-week pregnancy of a 17-year-old sexual assault victim, observing that the procedure cannot be merely determined by the statutory period of 24 weeks and has to be examined in the context of the circumstances of each case.

Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, the procedure can be done till 20 weeks of gestation period in ordinary cases and 24 weeks in certain categories such as rape survivors. Beyond 24 weeks, termination of pregnancy is permissible only in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by a medical board, which has to be then approved by the court.“... it emerges that the question of medical termination of pregnancy cannot be merely determined or restricted by the statutory period of 24 weeks, but must be examined in the context of the facts and circumstances of each case, including the age and the reason of such pregnancy, the medical opinion placed on record, and the rights and the interest of the pregnant woman. “It is in the backdrop of the aforesaid legal position and the judicial precedents that this court proceeds to examine the present case,” Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar said in a judgment passed on October 24. The court noted that the petitioner was a 17-year-old girl and her pregnancy was stated to be unwanted and conceived from a rape incident, against which an FIR has already been lodged.