Minor can’t be forced to give birth: SC
Observing that a minor child cannot be forced to bear a pregnancy, the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday pulled up the Union Government and asking it to amend the law to permit rape survivors to terminate unwanted pregnancies even beyond 20 weeks.
In a ruling with far reaching implications for rape survivors, including children, and the issue of autonomy over their bodies, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took strong exception to a plea by AIIMS seeking to set aside the SC order allowing a 15-year-old girl to medically terminate her 30-week pregnancy.
“Please amend your law that when there is pregnancy due to rape etc, then time limitation will not be there. The law needs to be organic and in sync evolving times. Also amend the law so that such trials are completed within a week. Why should the child suffer the pending trauma of the trial also?” the CJI asked.
The SC said in its impassioned observations that this is a case of child rape and the survivor will have a lifelong scar and trauma if termination is not allowed. If the mother does not have permanent disability, termination should be carried out, it said. “This is a curative petition. Unwanted pregnancy cannot be thrust on a person. Imagine... she is a child. She should be studying now. But we want to make her a mother. Imagine the pain, the humiliation the child has suffered in this,” the bench said.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for AIIMS, mentioned the curative plea and said the termination of pregnancy is not possible. “It will be a live baby with severe deformities.
