Gujarat HC rejects gangraped woman's plea to terminate her pregnancy

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has rejected the plea of a woman who sought to terminate her 28-week pregnancy, after being allegedly raped by seven men, since her husband is unwilling to accept her child. Justice J B Pardiwala rejected the plea while stressing on laws which cannot permit medical termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks since it could endanger the woman's life.

The High Court directed the Botad district Superintendent of Police (SP) to take over investigation of the rape case. The HC also ordered the Botad district collector to keep a close watch on the gangraped woman's family members, including her husband, in order to ensure that all medical facilities are given to the woman to deliver her child.

"The child should be looked after well and must not be abandoned in any manner. If necessary, the district collector can avail of the services of any NGO, government organisation or social organisation in this regard," the High Court said.

"I am conscious of the fact that to carry a child in her womb after an act of rape is not only extremely traumatic for her but also humiliating, frightening and psychologically devastating. In Indian society, she becomes an object of scorn and ostracisation. This is very unfortunate," Justice Pardiwala said in the 38-page order.

"However, at the same time, assuming for the moment that termination at this stage is permissible, there would be a likelihood of danger to the life of the applicant in case of carrying out termination of pregnancy. If labour is induced to carry out termination of pregnancy, in every possibility, the same would result in a live birth of a new born as maturity of foetus is 28 weeks," the order said.

"The applicant will have to bravely go ahead with the pregnancy and when time comes, she should deliver the child. I am conscious of the fact that it is easy for a judge to say so in his judgment because it is ultimately the applicant who will have to face hard days ahead. Yet, howsoever harsh one may find the law, it remains the law and one has to respect it. She must understand that termination at this stage will put her own life in peril," he said.

Quoting a woman who was raped, Justice Pardiwala said that negative feelings due to a rape are not eliminated by abortion and instead, the grief of ending the child's life is doubled. The High Court also quoted from international articles on abortion stating that a child conceived through an act of rape deserves to be born.

The High Court quoted various judgements from courts across USA, UK, Germany and Canada, which stressed that the termination of pregnancy could be allowed only to save a woman from complications of pregnancies or to save her life.

In her plea, the gangraped woman had filed a plea before the Gujarat High court on March 31 to allow her to terminate her pregnancy, after a district court refused her permission to do so.

As per the police report, she was abducted and raped by seven people at different places for eight months, which made her pregnant.

After learning about her pregnancy due to rape, she had first approached a district court to allow her to terminate her pregnancy, which was assessed at around 26 weeks. Her application was rejected by the court citing Section 3 of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 which permits termination of pregnancy not exceeding 20 weeks.

Later, she knocked the doors of the Gujarat High Court to set aside the order of the lower court and permit her to abort her child. In her plea, she said that her husband may throw her out of the house if she gave birth to somebody else's child.