Supreme Court To Deliver Ruling On Abortion Today

OB Bureau

October 11, 2023 2:32 pm

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will give a landmark ruling on abortion today after it hears from a woman who has sought the termination of a 26-week foetus on medical grounds. The woman said she suffers from health issues, including postnatal depression, and is unable to raise a third child.

The court had on Monday allowed the family’s termination request. On Tuesday the government filed a report by Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) claiming the foetus is “viable”, i.e., it has a strong possibility of survival, and asked the court to recall its order.

The timing of the report irked the two-member bench assigned by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, NDTV reported.

Justice Kohli and Justice Nagarathna then said they needed to hear from the woman – who had not been informed of the new report – and fixed a hearing for 2 pm.

The court also asked the woman if she would be willing to foster the unborn child till the government could arrange for its adoption. The woman agreed.

The AIIMS report

The AIIMS report asked the court if a foeticide (the procedure to stop the foetal heart) could be performed before the termination of the pregnancy.

Essentially, the government has cited the AIIMS report to suggest that since the foetus has, so far, had a normal and healthy progression, aborting it now would not technically be a “termination” It would, instead, be a preterm delivery and amount to the “murder” of the foetus.

Notably, under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, the upper limit for termination of pregnancies is 24 weeks for married and vulnerable women, such as rape survivors, differently-abled and minors.