SC allows 13-year-old rape victim to abort 32-week foetus

The apex court permitted the abortion as it was due to a sexual abuse and that the victim did not want to carry on with it.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a 13-year-old rape victim to abort her 32-week-old pregnancy.

India has a 20-week legal ceiling on abortion.The pregnancy termination law allows a woman to abort after that but only after doctors confirm it is necessary to save the mother's life.

During the hearing of the case, Centre had opposed termination of the pregnancy on grounds that it was too advanced and could pose risk to mother's life.

The apex court, on the other hand, permitted the abortion as it was due to a sexual abuse and that the victim did not want to carry on with it.

"Keeping in view the age of the petitioner (victim), the trauma she faced, we allow her to terminate her pregnancy," the CJI said in his order

The top court has directed that the victim be admitted to Sir J J Hospital in Mumbai on Thursday so that a medical team to carry out Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP)

There has been an increase in abortion pleas filed in the apex court since April last year when it had allowed a 14-year-old rape survivor from Ahmedabad to abort her 24-week-old foetus.

Earlier this year, a ten-year old rape victim was denied an abortion by the Supreme Court. The 10-year old delivered a baby girl via Caesarian section at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh in August.

The current MTP Act does not allow abortions above the gestational age of 20 weeks. However, legal experts have argued that medical science and technology have made the 20-week ceiling redundant and that conclusive determination of foetal abnormality is possible in most cases after the 20th week of gestational age.

OneIndia News