14-yr-old rape victim gets SC nod to abort

In a first, the Supreme Court on Thursday gave permission to a 14-year-old rape victim in Gujarat to abort her 24-week-old foetus at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on Friday.Confirming the development, Medical Superintendent MM Prabhakar said that a team of doctors would begin the medical process of examination around 9 am, and subsequently abort the pregnancy. According to Prabhakar, there are no apparent complications. 

The minor became pregnant after being raped by a doctor Jatin Mehta, when she visited him to get treated for typhoid in February.On July 28, the SC stood in favour of the teenage victim, who was denied the permission to terminate the pregnancy by the Sessions as well as Gujarat High Court. Both the courts had gone by the existing laws whereby abortion beyond 20 weeks is not allowed. 

However, the apex court observed that she can undergo abortion if medical experts permit the patient to undergo an operation to terminate the pregnancy. Terming it an unprecedented judgement by the apex court, senior lawyer Anand Yagnik said that it is a pathbreaking order as the SC has gone beyond statute and stated that given the danger to the life of the girl, the foetus can be aborted even if it is beyond 20-weeks-old.

The SC also looked into the aspect that courts took over four weeks to hear and pronounce the order, said Yagnik, adding that it has said that the girl cannot be blamed for the delay. “Moreover, the girl here is a minor and did not understand the repercussions. The ordeal she has undergone is tremendous and so she could not share it with her parents earlier. The girl too has been maintaining that she is too young to give birth to a child and wants to complete her studies,” he added. 

The Bench of Justices AR Dave and Kurian Joseph had initially said it would not like to do something which is contrary to law, but later they   directed the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital authorities to get senior gynecologists and clinical psychologists to examine the girl. The court said that if the doctors permitted then the girl could be operated upon with the consent of the victim and her parents. 

They also observed that the abortion may not be carried out if there was a “serious threat” to her life. The apex court also directed a DNA test of the foetus to aid in the criminal trial of the rape. The girl’s father had first moved the sessions court seeking termination of pregnancy, saying she was in no position to take care of the child. later, he approached Gujarat High Court, which too turned down his request, stating that though it had sympathy with the victim, it could not grant permission to abort the foetus conceived by her due to the ghastly act of rape committed on her.