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Delhi HC Allows Teen Rape Survivor To Terminate 28-Week-Pregnancy, Directs AIIMS To Preserve Foetus
Writer: Shiva Chaudhary
A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
Delhi, 30 Aug 2022 9:07 AM GMT
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Creatives : Shiva Chaudhary
A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
The Delhi High Court noted the teenager was constrained to approach the court because she had passed the 24-week pregnancy threshold as formed under the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.
The Delhi High Court has allowed a pregnant teenage rape survivor to terminate her 28-week pregnancy at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The Delhi HC has further directed AIIMS to preserve the foetus for Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing.
Justice Yashwant Varma gave the ruling after looking through the report of the medical board constituted by AIIMS, which had recommended the 16-yea-old girl's medical termination of the pregnancy.
What Was The Case?
The Delhi High Court noted the teenager was constrained to approach the court because she had passed the 24-week pregnancy threshold as formed under the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, and so according to the authorities, the termination will be impermissible.
The teenage rape survivor submitted her petition in support with an affidavit by her brother that the foetus was past 28 weeks old, and she wanted to terminate the pregnancy.
Similar Case In The Past
The court considered a July 19 order of the high court in which a minor girl, also a rape survivor, was permitted to terminate her pregnancy, reported NDTV.
In that verdict, the high court observed, "If the petitioner was forced to go through with the pregnancy despite the same having been caused on account of the incident of sexual assault, it would permanently scar her psyche and cause grave and irreparable injury to her mental health. The court cannot visualise a more egregious invasion of her right to life as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution."
What Did The HC Observe?
The high court allowed the current petition and directed the girl to appear before the medical board, which may undertake the requisite process for medical termination of her pregnancy. The court asked her to appear before the board, her brother, and an officer deputed by the Child Welfare Committee so that appropriate steps could be taken in accordance with the law.
Further, the court directed AIIMS to preserve the terminal foetus for DNA testing, which would be required for the pending criminal case. The court noted that preserving the terminal foetus and the DNA must comply with further orders that the competent court may pass.
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