New Delhi: With a medical board informing that termination of pregnancy in the 32nd week would pose a grave risk to the 10-year-old rape survivor from Chandigarh, the Supreme Court on Friday declined the plea for her abortion. The court asked the doctors at the government hospital in Chandigarh to give the girl the best treatment to enable her to deliver the child.
Acting on a writ petition filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, a Bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandra-chud had on July 24 asked the girl to be examined by a medical board. Doctors had refused to terminate the pregnancy, caused after being repeatedly raped by her uncle in Chandigarh.
Permanent medical panels sought
The counsel pointed out that there is an urgent need for the court to frame guidelines for setting up a permanent mechanism and for constituting permanent medical boards at each district in the country for expedient termination of pregnancies beyond 20 weeks, in exceptional cases particularly involving child rape survivors, under the best possible medical facilities.
Taking note of the submissions the bench asked the Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar appearing for the Centre to consider enacting a law for setting up of a permanent medical board at each government hospital in the States.
