SC Allows Unmarried Woman To Terminate 24 Weeks Pregnancy

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that an unmarried woman can terminate a 24-week pregnancy arising out of a consensual relationship. 

Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued an interim order allowing an unmarried woman to terminate her 24-week pregnancy resulting from a consensual relationship, subject to the completion of an order formed by the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) from Delhi that the feotus can be terminated without endangering the life of the woman. The decision came while considering a petiotion of a 25-year-old unmarried woman seeking to abort her pregnancy out of a consensual relationship.

A court headed by judges DY Chandrachud noted that the Delhi Supreme Court took an overly restrictive view of the provisions on medical termination of pregnancy regulations while rejecting the woman’s injunction.
“The applicant cannot be denied the benefit solely on the grounds that she is an unmarried woman,” the court said in its order.

The bench further noted that after the 2021 amendment, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act uses the word partner instead of husband in the explanation to Section 3, the court said that this demonstrates that the  legislature covers unmarried woman under the Act.

“We are of the view that allowing the petitioner to suffer an unwanted pregnancy will go against the parliamentary intent .The benefits under the Act cannot be denied to her only on the basis of her being unmarried. The distinction between a married and an unmarried woman has no nexus to the object sought to be achieved by the Parliament”, the bench stated.

As per the  present Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Rules 2021, the survivors of rape, minors, divorcee or widow , physically disabled women, mentally ill females can terminate the pregnancy.Adding to the eligibility criteria, pregnancy cases with the malformation of feotus which carries a significant risk of being incompatible with life or if the child is born, may suffer from physical or mental abnormalities such as to be severely disabled and pregnant women in a humane environment also can abort the pregnancy of upto 24 weeks.

AIIMS further adds up:

“The use of the words wife or her partner shows an intention to cover unmarried women which is in line with Article 14 of the Constitution,” the jury said, while asking the Director of AIIMS Delhi to create a medical board under the provisions of Section 3(2)(d) MTP Act.
“If the Medical Association concludes that the fetus can be aborted without endangering the life of the applicant, AIIMS will perform the abortion in accordance with the request,” the order states.

The Supreme Court also issued an opinion to the Union government requesting additional Attorney General Aishwarya Bhati to assist in interpreting the law.

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