High court allows teenage victim of child marriage to terminate 28-week pregnancy

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court has allowed a teenage girl, a victim of child marriage, to undergo medical termination of her 28-week pregnancy due to fetal malformation.

The division bench of Justices PD Naik and NR Borkar in its April 12 order also noted that the girl was “HIV seropositive”. A copy of the order was released today.

The 17-year-old girl filed a petition in the High Court seeking permission to terminate the pregnancy, saying scans showed the fetus had skeletal abnormalities and possible genetic abnormalities.

Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, termination of pregnancy beyond 24 weeks requires court approval.

The high court relied on a report submitted by the medical committee of the state-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune, which recommended termination of the pregnancy as the girl was a minor and a victim of child marriage and was “HIV seropositive”.

The fetus also suffered from multiple defects, the committee said in its report.

The high court said the termination was allowed considering the girl’s mental and health condition.

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