Will abortion endanger 10-yr-old rape victim’s life? SC asks for medical examination

Recently, the court gave a 10-year-old Rohtak- raped by stepfather the permission to abort.

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre on a plea seeking permission to allow a 10-year old rape survivor to terminate her pregnancy.

A bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar asked Chandigarh's Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research to examine a 10-year-old rape victim to ascertain if her 30-week-old pregnancy can be terminated.

The bench also asked member secretary of the state legal services authority to assist the panel in the examination to be held on July 26.

The apex court has also asked the member secretary to make proper transportation arrangements for the rape survivor and one of her parents. The PIL was filed after a Chandigarh district court did not allow the 26-week-old-pregnant rape survivor to undergo abortion.

The apex court has fixed the plea for hearing on Friday and asked the doctors to ascertain the risks on the life of the victim if the foetus is allowed to be aborted.

Medical complications

Continuing the pregnancy is a bigger threat to the pregnant child's life and sanity. Medically, the chances of the little girl dying carrying her rapist's foetus to term are far higher than getting an abortion at 26 weeks.

A young child carrying a pregnancy through has exponentially higher chances of delivering a severely premature and underweight baby, developing high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia that lead to seizure, coma), severe bleeding after childbirth, infections and other complications related to labour and childbirth. Even in healthy adult women, these causes account for 70% of childbirth-related deaths in India.

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

The girl, who hails from Chandigarh, was repeatedly raped by her uncle.

Recently, the court gave a 10-year-old Rohtak- raped by stepfather the permission to abort.

OneIndia News (with agency inputs)