The Gujarat High Court refused the medical termination of the 30-week pregnancy of a mentally unsounded 15-year-old mute tribal rape survivor. The single bench of Justice Niral R Mehta said that it will not be desirable to terminate the pregnancy after hearing the opinion of the medical experts.
A panel of doctors formed by Banas Medical College and Research Institute, after examining the minor, had opined that “looking to the 29 weeks and six days pregnancy termination is not possible” and had further stated that the patient is fit to continue the pregnancy and there is “no substantial risk to the life of the patient… if pregnancy is continued.”
The survivor’s mother, a homeless widow had lodged an FIR at Dhanera police station under charges of rape under the IPC and POSCO Act in June after she realised belatedly that her minor daughter was pregnant.
The court also directed the district collector to depute an “officer of his confidence to inquire” and make sure that the girl, during her pregnancy till the delivery and post-delivery days, “be accommodated adequately to ensure the health of the victim during these days.”
In India, the limit to terminating a pregnancy by medically-assisted abortion is 24 weeks of pregnancy. However, in certain exceptional cases, like this one, courts can give permission to abort a baby after this period with the recommendations made by medical experts.
Justice Mehta taking into consideration the socio-economic condition of the differently-abled child requested the member secretary of Gujarat State Legal Services Authority to decide the interim compensation within 15 days under the Gujarat State Victim Compensation Rules, 2019.
Also, the court directed that once the baby is delivered, it shall be handed over to a reputed orphanage home, with the process guided by the district legal services authority at Patan.
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