The Supreme Court has rejected a plea from a married woman who sought to terminate her 26-week pregnancy, putting an end to a complex decision involving the “rights of the unborn child” versus the “choice of the mother.” Chief Justice DY Chandrachud led the bench and reached a conclusion based on a medical report from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The court, while instructing the hospital to provide all necessary medical support for the woman to complete her pregnancy, noted that there is no immediate danger to the woman’s life, and the fetus is in a healthy condition. The bench emphasized that allowing the termination of the pregnancy would violate the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act’s Sections 3 and 5, as this case does not involve fetal abnormalities.
Dismissing the plea from the 27-year-old woman, a mother of two, who expressed her unpreparedness, both physically and financially, to continue with the unwanted pregnancy, the court ruled out the option of prematurely delivering the underdeveloped child. Instead, the apex court stated that the state may take responsibility for the child after birth if the parents do not wish to keep the baby. Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, the upper limit for pregnancy termination is set at 24 weeks for married women, as well as special categories like survivors of rape, vulnerable individuals such as the differently-abled, and minors. This case presented a moral dilemma for the court, with the Chief Justice previously remarking, “we cannot kill the child,” highlighting the challenging balance between ordering the child’s birth or respecting the mother’s choice.
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