Gujarat HC Allows Abortion For 26 Weeks Pregnant Rape Survivor

On Monday, the Gujarat High Court gave permission to terminate the pregnancy of a 23-year-old woman who was a rape survivor. The woman had a permanent physical disability of 70 percent and also had sub-normal intelligence. The pregnancy was terminated after 26 weeks months.

The high court was approached last month by a woman and her father seeking approval for an abortion. Sikander Saiyed, their advocate, stated that since this was a medico-legal case, the court's permission and instructions to medical professionals were necessary.

The high court requested a medical evaluation and the physicians provided a favourable one.

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Gujarat HC Allows Abortion

The judgment made by Justice Samir Dave considered a medical report from a hospital in Surat and an expert opinion from a team of four doctors, ultimately granting permission for the careful and precautionary termination of a pregnancy at 26 weeks.

The New Civil Hospital in Surat issued a certificate indicating that the rape survivor has hemiplegia, a medical condition that involves paralysis of muscles resulting in a permanent physical disability exceeding 70 percent, as ruled by the court.

The medical team expressed their view that carrying on with the pregnancy could have negative impacts on the woman's mental and physical well-being. Therefore, they deemed it appropriate to terminate the foetus.

The woman had approached the High Court through legal representation in order to request authorization for the medical termination of their pregnancy.

The court determined that it would be fair, lawful, and fitting to abort the pregnancy based on the available medical evidence, as well as the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, and guidelines established by the Indian Medical Association.

In a similar case, on April 28, the Delhi High Court permitted the abortion of a minor Nepalese gangrape survivor's pregnancy at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital. The court made this decision because the pregnancy had exceeded the 24-week legal limit. Additionally, the hospital's medical staff was instructed to ensure that the young girl received the best possible treatment, along with post-operative care and necessary recuperation before being discharged from the hospital.