Minor Rape Victim allowed to Abort 24-Week-Old Foetus by Bombay High Court

Mumbai, May 10: The Bombay High court  allowed minor rape victim survivor to abort her 24 weeks fetus legally on Wednesday. The court permission comes on the ground that the survivor is minor and already suffered a lot due to the incidence. To ensure that the termination of pregnancy is carried out properly, the court has also directed to conduct the procedure in King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM) since it is well equipped.

Earlier, in order to give a final decision on the abortion petition, a vacation bench of justices A K Menon and Bharati Dange asked for a medical report from the Rajawadi, a government-run hospital to check whether the minor girl is fit to undergo an abortion. In reply, the doctors of Rajawadi submitted a report stating that the girl is medically and physically fit for abortion. According to the court direction, the doctors of KEM has to carry out the procedure by Friday this week.

In the case, the petitioner is the mother of the minor girl who claimed that she got to know about her daughter's pregnancy when she complained of stomach pain and was taken to hospital subsequently. In India, abortion is legal only up to 20 weeks. In order to abort the foetus which is more than 20-weeks old, court permission is necessary.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 10, 2018 05:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).