The Bombay High Court refused to allow a 15-year-old 'rape victim' to medically terminate her pregnancy of 28 weeks on the ground that the child will be born alive and can face medical complications. Instead, the bench asked her to continue with her pregnancy for the remaining 12 weeks and deliver the baby through a shelter home.

A division bench at Aurangabad comprising Justices Ravindra Ghuge & Y.G. Khobragade further noted that the child's physical and mental development should be considered as this seemed to be a case of teenage romance.

The teen approached the High Court to terminate her pregnancy at the Medical College and Hospital as it had crossed the 24-week mark.

The court directed a medical board to specifically check if MTP at this stage would be safe and if the child would have a heartbeat.

The Medical Board gave the opinion that the baby would be born alive and would need to be placed in the NICU, moreover, surgical intervention would be necessary. Chances of severe blood loss can be there and the teen may have to be admitted to the ICU leading to complications for the teen itself.

Considering the fact the child was gotten out of 'rape', the teen's mother insisted on termination even if the child was born alive.

The Bench also noted that the teen was found in Rajasthan in the company of another man with whom she was living for a couple of weeks. Since she was a minor, her consent was immaterial and the man was booked under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

There was also no fetal anomaly reported during the inspection. If the mother's request for termination was considered, the child would be born with anomalies.

Lastly, the court said that the teen was at liberty to get admitted at one of the two shelter homes in Nashik or Aurangabad and the shelter home would be responsible for taking her for regular check-ups. The court further said the teen should have access to a counselor and after the child is born, she could decide if she wanted to give it up for adoption.

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Reference:

• livelaw.in