Landmark judgement: 14-year-old rape survivor allowed to abort by Supreme Court

[P.J.]

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Landmark judgement: 14-year-old rape survivor allowed to abort by Supreme Court

July 31, 2015




Delhi: A 14-year-old rape survivor from Gujarat has been allowed abortion by a medical panel constituted by the Supreme Court, as per reports on Thursday.

On July 28, the SC had came to the rescue of the minor rape victim who was denied permission by the High Court to terminate her pregnancy, by ordering that the requisite surgery may be done if the gynaecologists and clinical psychologists permit it.


The minor became pregnant after being allegedly raped by her doctor Jatin Bhai K Mehta when she had visited him after suffering from typhoid in February.


She was denied permission by the Gujarat High Court to abort the foetus.


Initially, the bench of Justices AR Dave and Kurian Joseph had said it would not like to do something which is contrary to law.


As per law, abortion beyond 20 weeks is not allowed. The girl is said to be 25 weeks pregnant.


"Team of 5 doctors has given permission to abort 25-week pregnancy of 14-year-old rape victim in Gujarat," Civil hospital Medical Superintendent said, as per PTI.


The bench, after hearing Kamini Jaiswal, appearing for the minor victim, said it would direct the authorities at the Civil Hospital at Ahmedabad to get the girl examined by two senior-most gynaecologists and a clinical psychologist.


"If they (experts) say that she has to be operated upon then let them do it with the consent of the girl and her parents," it had said.


If there is a "serious threat" to her life in case the foetus is not aborted, then the surgeons and the clinical experts can together take a decision on termination of her pregnancy, the bench had added.


While issuing notice on the plea, it had also said that in case of abortion, a DNA test should be done on the foetus which could help in the criminal trial of rape.


Earlier, the appeal was filed by the parents of the minor girl against the order of the Gujarat High Court which, besides expressing sympathy, refused to grant her permission to abort the child conceived by her due to ghastly act of rape committed on her.

(With PTI inputs)



http://zeenews.india.com/news/india...llowed-to-abort-by-supreme-court_1639133.html

 

[yesmohan]

Very bold parents. Without caring about the adverse publicity, came forward contest in the court.
Good decision in the interest of the victim.

 

[V.Balasubramani]

A right and the reality

The decision of the expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court to allow a minor who was raped, to undergo an abortion after 24 weeks of gestation, is a welcome one. And doctors thus initiated the procedure on the young person on Friday. In referring the case to the panel, the court looked beyond the rule book, while treating the right to life as a revered constitutional principle. Is the right to life absolutely inviolate? Earlier this week the court allowed the three-member committee to decide whether the appellant, a 14-year-old, could undergo the abortion if it was “immediately necessary to save the life of the mother”. One of the judges wondered about the future of the foetus, practically in the sixth month of gestation. Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 it is legal for a registered medical practitioner to do the procedure within 20 weeks of gestation if “the continuance of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury [to] physical or mental health.” In cases of rape, the law says, the anguish caused by pregnancy shall be presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the woman. In the case of a person below 18, the decision should be taken by a guardian.

All such extenuating circumstances are applicable in this case — except that the appellant is a minor, and it is four weeks too late under the law. Obstetricians hold that while considering an abortion, a period of four more weeks does not really make a material difference. Going through with a pregnancy after a rape and having to raise a baby, could be extremely traumatic. Technological options for medical termination of pregnancy are far more advanced today than in earlier days, and the procedure, if done in a hospital setting with adequate support, can be safe enough for the mother. In fact, in cases where major fetal anomalies are detected at an advanced stage of pregnancy, termination is being done even up to 32 weeks, taking into account the health of mother and baby. Delivered at 24 weeks, a foetus will be extremely pre-term, with the possibility of developing major disabilities. On the count of the age of the survivor, there is a precedent, too: in a 1993 judgment, a Bench of the Madras High Court held that minors who are mature enough to understand the consequences of opting or not opting for an abortion must be allowed to make their own decisions. The state, ultimately, needs to look at its role in protecting the right to life from an expansive point of view. For the law is, obviously, more than the sum of its rules.


Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/edi...rape-victims-abortion-case/article7486386.ece

 

[renuka]

25 weeks?

That is rather advanced..not fair for the fetus too.

They should allow the pregnancy to go full term and the give the baby to the father of the child since he is a doctor who can afford to pay for maintenance.

BTW what type of doctor rapes a 14 year old that too a patient.

Couldnt he get anyone else to have sex with?

 

[sangom]

I don't know the law provisions, but it seems to me that any rape victim should have the freedom to terminate the pregnancy caused by such rape if she so chooses. Why are we having the Supreme Court, Medical panel, etc., and making a "big news"?

 

[yesmohan]

I don't know the law provisions, but it seems to me that any rape victim should have the freedom to terminate the pregnancy caused by such rape if she so chooses. Why are we having the Supreme Court, Medical panel, etc., and making a "big news"?

Sir,

Punishment to the culprit could not be given avoiding the news/media.
Only people of Tirunelveli / Madurai ,shall go to the extent of giving silent punishment.