Bombay HC allows child marriage victim to terminate pregnancy over foetal abnormalities

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has permitted a teenager, a victim of child marriage, to undergo medical termination of her 28-week pregnancy on the grounds of foetal abnormalities. 

A division bench of Justices P D Naik and N R Borkar in its order of April 12 also noted that the girl was HIV seropositive. A copy of the order was made available on Thursday. The 17-year-old girl had filed a petition in HC seeking permission to get her pregnancy terminated saying scans had shown that the foetus had skeletal anomalies with the possibility of genetic abnormalities.

Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, a court nod is required to terminate a pregnancy beyond 24 weeks of gestation. The high court relied on a report submitted by the medical board of the state-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune that recommended termination of the pregnancy as the girl is a minor and a victim of child marriage with HIV seropositive status.

The board in its report said the foetus also has multiple defects. The high court said it was allowing termination of pregnancy taking into account the mental and medical situation of the girl.