Kerala High Court disallows termination of pregnancy of minor rape survivor

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (October 30) dismissed a plea by the father of a 16-year-old rape survivor, seeking permission to terminate his daughter’s pregnancy.

The court passed the order on a petition by the father from Kodungallur in Thrissur. The survivor and the petitioner were unaware of the pregnancy till the girl was examined by a gynaecologist. By that time, the foetus had crossed the gestational age of 25 weeks and six days, thereby making it impossible to medically terminate the pregnancy without an order from a competent court.

The court noted that medical termination of pregnancy was made impermissible beyond 24 weeks, unless the termination was necessitated by diagnosis of substantial foetal anomaly under provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. The report of the medical board does not reveal substantial anomaly to the foetus, and the report also does not reveal that the mental condition of the survivor is of such nature that it constitutes grave injury to her mental health. Therefore, the prayer for medical termination of pregnancy can only be declined, the court added.

Published - October 31, 2024 01:49 am IST