Bombay High Court Allows 19-Year-Old Woman To Terminate 25-Week Pregnancy

The Bombay High Court on Thursday allowed a 19-year-old woman to terminate her 25-week pregnancy, which she sought on the grounds of "grave psychological effects" and "social stigma".

A division bench of Justices Somasekhar Sundaresan and NR Borkar said "her sovereign entitlement to make an autonomous choice about her body and to exercise it in the form of opting for medical termination lends itself to acceptance".

In a petition filed on May 27, the woman had sought termination of pregnancy of 25 weeks. Stating she was from the lower income group, the woman said grave psychological effects of the pregnancy and social stigma were the primary reasons for the desire to terminate the pregnancy.

The bench noted that her medical reports "indicated no abnormality with the foetus". However, it had not considered her emotional and mental health, the bench said.

The medical board of Sassoon Hospital had examined the petitioner, counselled her and filed a report before the court which stated that "considering the woman's current psychological status, sociocultural and economic conditions, continuation of pregnancy can lead to grave psychological injury".

The findings of the report submitted by the medical board are essentially that she would suffer "grave psychological injury if the pregnancy is continued", the court noted.

"Upon careful consideration of the record and our interaction with the petitioner, we are of the opinion that she is indeed fully aware of the foetus having a heartbeat and is also firmly desirous of terminating the pregnancy after being made well aware of the procedure to be adopted," the court said.

On a suggestion that her partner in causation of the pregnancy should have a stake in the decision, the bench said, "We are satisfied that the law declared by the Supreme Court renders the partner as not being a stakeholder in the choice of exercise of reproductive right by the pregnant person." Applying the guidelines of the Supreme court, they have been persuaded to permit medical termination of the woman's pregnancy, the HC bench said.

"Consequently, we permit the petitioner to undergo the termination procedure at the Sassoon Hospital, Pune at the earliest, and if possible, immediately today, May 30, 2024," the court said. 

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