New Delhi [India], April 24 : Allowing the medical termination of pregnancy of a 15-year-old girl who was over seven months pregnant, the Supreme Court on Friday observed that a woman cannot be compelled to continue with an unwanted pregnancy.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said that no court ought to compel a woman, particularly a minor, to carry a pregnancy to full term against her express will, as such compulsion would inflict "grave mental, emotional and physical trauma".
Allowing the minor to undergo medical termination, the bench said that in cases of unwanted pregnancy, directing continuation would negate her dignity, autonomy, and long-term well-being.
The constitutional courts must prioritise the wishes and welfare of the pregnant woman over procedural and statutory limitations under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act when faced with cases of unwanted pregnancies likely to cause severe mental and physical trauma, it added.
"If she is forced to continue the pregnancy and give birth to a child, the consequence would be adverse. An unwanted pregnancy and the mindset of a pregnant woman has a bearing on the child to be born too. The decision not to continue her pregnancy and seek termination with all attendant medical risk must be respected rather than compelling such a pregnant woman to continue such a pregnancy," observed the bench.
The bench also expressed concern that if courts routinely declined permission in such cases, minors might resort to unsafe and illegal abortion methods.
It also said that forcing continuation of such an unwanted pregnancy would have long-lasting repercussions on the minor's mental health, educational prospects, social standing and overall development.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by the mother of the minor seeking permission for medical termination of pregnancy beyond the statutory period prescribed under the MPT Act.
The top court also took into consideration that the pregnancy arose from a consensual relationship between two minors and that the girl had unequivocally expressed her unwillingness to continue with the pregnancy.
The bench also rejected the argument that the child could be given up for adoption after birth, and observed that what is relevant in such cases is the choice of the pregnant woman rather than that of the child to be born, and that the availability of adoption cannot be used as a reason to compel childbirth.
What is relevant is whether the pregnant woman intends to give birth to the child or not. In the present case, she has clearly expressed her unwillingness to continue with the pregnancy, noted the bench.
Hence, the top court directed that she be permitted to undergo medical termination of pregnancy at AIIMS, New Delhi, subject to all necessary medical safeguards.
The MTP Act, first enacted in 1971 and then amended in 2021, allows all women to undergo abortion legally for up to 20 weeks. It gives a further extension to women on account of mental anguish, rape, assault and health complications, among others.
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