Life of foetus not at higher pedestal than mother's: Telangana High Court allows minor rape victim to abort 26-week-old foetus

Life of a foetus is not greater than the life of the mother, the Telangana High Court recently observed while according permission to a minor rape victim to terminate her 26-week-old pregnancy..Right to make a choice regarding termination of pregnancy is a facet of right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution subject to reasonable restrictions under law, single-judge Justice B Vijaysen Reddy said."The dignity, self-respect, healthy living (mental or physical) etc. are facets of right to life and personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which also include right of a woman to make a choice of pregnancy and terminate pregnancy, in case, where pregnancy is caused by rape or sexual abuse or for that matter unplanned pregnancy, subject to reasonable restrictions under law," the judgment stated..In the instant case, the Court noted that if the petitioner is not permitted to terminate her pregnancy, there is every possibility of her undergoing severe physical and mental stress, which may have adverse effect on her future health and prospects."The life of the foetus or to be born child cannot be placed at a higher pedestal than that of the life of the petitioner," the Court said..The Court was hearing a petition filed by a 16-year-old minor victim through her parents seeking permission for medical termination of pregnancy as per the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 (MTP Act) as amended in 2021.The medical diagnosis concluded that the victim was subjected to rape and was 26-27 weeks pregnant.The Court initially directed the medical board to conduct a medical examination on the victim..Advocate Sravya Katta, appearing for the victim, argued that a woman has self-rule over her body which is a facet of right to life and liberty under Article 21.Further, she submitted that it is inhuman to subject a woman, who is over 24 weeks pregnant, to legal deferrals since the infringement of right to life of a rape the victim outweighs the right to life of the child in the womb..The Court was apprised by the Medical Board that the petitioner is fit for termination of pregnancy but there may arise some medical complications.Subsequently, the Court noted that though there is restriction under the MTP (Amendment) Act 2021 for terminating pregnancy older than 24 weeks, it is settled law that the Constitutional Courts are empowered to direct termination of pregnancy even if the foetus is more than 24 weeks old.In this backdrop, the Court went on to observe that if the petitioner is compelled to continue with pregnancy caused by rape, it would infringe her right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. "The parents of the petitioner have expressed, through their counsel, that the petitioner is not in a position to continue the pregnancy and there is threat to life of the petitioner on account of physical and mental stress she is undergoing on a day-to-day basis," the Court noted while allowing the termination of pregnancy..Recently, the Kerala High Court had flagged concerns regarding the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 while dismissing a plea by a pregnant woman seeking termination of a 31-week old pregnancy.The Kerala High Court had declined to pass orders allowing termination of pregnancy since the Medical Board had recommended against itThe Court, while doing so, had noted that even though the MTP Act prescribes a time limit to medically terminate a pregnancy, there appears to be a trend of Constitutional Courts allowing it outside of the deadline.This, the Court opined, might be due to inadequacies in the MTP Act as it stands now."The trend of the decisions rendered by the courts in this regard would indicate the inadequacy of the provisions in the Act to protect the fundamental right to life of the pregnant woman to its fullest extent, especially having regard to the advancement of medical technology for safe abortion," the order said..[Read Judgment]