Bombay High Court: A Division Bench of Nitin Jamdar and N.R. Borkar, JJ., permitted the medical termination of the pregnancy of a 13 year old minor girl who was sexually abused by her father.
She had been denied medically terminating her pregnancy at the JJ Hospital Mumbai as the fetus was over 20 weeks old, and such termination was not permissible under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. A petition, was therefore filed seeking such a termination of pregnancy, by her mother who contended that the minor was sexually abused by her father which led to her pregnancy.
A Division Bench of this Court had asked the medical board of JJ Hospital to examine the minor and submit the report before the Court, as to whether it was advisable to permit the termination of pregnancy.
The present bench considering the opinion of Medical Board that a continuation of the pregnancy will cause physical and mental stress for minor mother, permitted the medical termination of pregnancy.
Court also added, in case the child born out of this procedure is alive, the Medical Practitioner conducting the procedure shall ensure that all necessary facilities are provided to such child for saving its life. If the child born is alive and Petitioner and her daughter are not willing to or not in a position to take responsibility of such child, the State and its agencies will have to assume full responsibility for such child.
In the above terms, petition was disposed of. [X v. State of Maharashtra, 2020 SCC OnLine Bom 677 , decided on 26-05-2020]
