New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected plea for permission to abort a foetus over 26 weeks old and said medical report had revealed that it was not suffering from any abnormality and that giving permission for a pre-term delivery carried the risk of it developing a lifelong physical and mental disability.
On October 9, an all-woman bench of two apex court judges had allowed the woman to undergo the procedure. A day later, however, one of the judges changed her mind after the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, where the woman was to undergo the medical termination of pregnancy, sought certain clarifications on how it should proceed given that the foetus appeared to be “normal’ and “viable”, indicating a high chance of survival. The matter was then placed before a three-judge bench.
Hearing the petition on October 13, the three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud noted that the medical prescriptions of the woman, who claimed to have been taking medicines for “postpartum psychosis”, were “silent” on what her exact ailment was and asked AIIMS to submit a fresh report on the condition of the petitioner and the foetus.
Perusing the fresh AIIMS report, the court noted that “the length of the pregnancy has crossed 24 weeks. It is now approximately 26 weeks and five days” and “there are no substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by the medical board… The medical termination of the pregnancy cannot be permitted,” the bench, also including Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misa, said.
