While upholding the right to life of an unborn child, the Supreme Court on 16 October turned down the plea of a woman seeking termination of her 27-week-old pregnancy. The decision was passed by a bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
What the Supreme Court held?
- The medical termination of the pregnancy could not be permitted as the pregnancy had crossed the outer limit of 24 weeks.
- Permitting termination of pregnancy would violate sections 3 and 5 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 2021 since there is no immediate threat to the mother in the matter and this is not a case of foetal abnormality.
- Even AIIMS Delhi had sought a direction after termination of pregnancy meant stopping the heart of the foetus.
- Rights of an unborn child must be balanced with a woman’s reproductive right.
- The state to bear all medical costs, the bench left it open to the parents to decide whether they want to give up the baby for adoption.
- It cannot undo the law disallowing medical termination of pregnancy once it crossed 24 weeks.
- MTP after this period is permissible only in case of foetal abnormalities or to save the life of the pregnant woman.
- The case did not fall under either of the exceptions. Article 142 can be used to do complete justice. But it should not be used in every case.
What was the case?
- A 27-year-old married woman, who already has two sons, has pleaded that the current pregnancy was unplanned.
- She has said that her family income is insufficient to support another child, and that she is herself not in the right mental frame, having been under medication for post partum depression after the birth of her second child.
- On October 9, a two-judge Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and B V Nagarathna allowed the termination of the pregnancy.
- However, on October 10, a doctor from AIIMS, Delhi emailed the counsel for the Centre saying that a directive would be needed from the SC on whether a foeticide (stopping the foetal heart) can be done before the termination of the pregnancy, since the foetus is “currently viable” and presents a “strong possibility of survival”. The case then went before a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI).
