Kerala High Court allows 15-year-old rape survivor to terminate 24-week pregnancy

The court order stated, “’Having given careful thought to the vexing question, I deem it appropriate to lean in favour of the minor girl, rather than sticking to the strict letter of the law.”

The court said the amendments in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, provide an outer limit of 24 weeks, beyond which termination would not be permitted.

The Kerala High Court order comes hardly a year after the Union Government notified the amended medical termination of pregnancy amendment rules.

Amended rules

According to the amended rules, the upper gestation limit is 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women, including survivors of rape, the victim of incest, and other vulnerable women like differently abled and minors.

A senior gynaecologist, Dr MS Sathi, said after the order that the court must have permitted the abortion after verifying reports of at least two separate registered medical practitioners as mandated by the amended laws.

“If the doctors who examined the survivor believe that medical termination would be okay in her pregnancy, there is nothing to worry about,” Sathi said.

Women’s rights activist and advocate J Sandhya termed it a proper court intervention to empower the survivor and boost her morale.

“Such orders need to be circulated widely as survivors and their parents can opt for medical termination as early as possible to avoid complications,” Sandhya said.