The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a minor cannot be forced to become pregnant and suggested that the central government change existing laws to allow termination of medical care after the 20-week period. Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi delivered the ruling in a plea filed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) seeking to set aside the apex court’s order allowing a 15-year-old girl to medically terminate her 30-week pregnancy.
Change the law, says SC
The watchdog committee, while rejecting the suit, said the central government should change the law to allow rape survivors to terminate unwanted pregnancies even after 20 weeks.
“Please amend your law that if there is a pregnancy due to rape etc then there will be no time limit. The law must be organic and in sync with the evolving time. Also amend the law so that such trials are completed within a week. Why should the child suffer the trauma of the trial as well,” the CJI said.
The victim should have a choice
The court also said that in cases of child rape, the choice of giving birth or terminating the pregnancy should always be up to the victim.
In its impassioned remarks, the court said it was a case of child rape and the survivor would be scarred and traumatized for life if a termination was not granted. Unless the mother has a permanent disability, she should be terminated, she said.
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“This is a medical petition. Unwanted pregnancy cannot be imposed on a person. Imagine… she is a child. She should be studying now. But we want to make her a mother. Imagine the pain, the humiliation the child has suffered,” the bench said.
He sought the advice of the bereaved parents from AIIMS and said that the decision must rest with the individual concerned.
“There are children for adoption. We have a lot of sympathy in this country…There are abandoned, abandoned children on the streets and even the mafia. We have to look at them. This is an unwanted pregnancy of a 15-year-old child,” the statement said.
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What AIIMS said
During the proceedings, the AIIMS doctor told the court that it is not baby versus fetus but baby versus baby.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who appeared at AIIMS, mentioned the medical request and said that termination of the pregnancy was not possible.
“It will be a live baby with severe deformities. The minor mother will have lifelong health problems and cannot reproduce… This baby can be put up for adoption. It is already 30 weeks. It is a viable life now,” Bhati said.
Read also | SC allows a minor girl to terminate a 30-week pregnancy
Bhati also asked the court for permission to consult the teenager and her parents.
“Not to choose AIIMS”
However, the ÚS noted that the request for correction can come from parents.
“Let’s not make a fight between the state and its citizens. Let’s bring in a psychiatrist and a counselor. Let’s not choose people capable of election.”
It is not at AIIMS, the judge said, to select citizens and can only provide medical service.
The Supreme Court said that the decision to terminate must rest with the survivor and her parents. AIIMS, he said, can help them make an informed decision.
“Explain everything to the child and her parents. If they want to change their minds after that, then we’ll see,” the bench said.
SC order last week
Last week, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan allowed a 15-year-old girl to medically terminate her pregnancy after 30 weeks.
The Supreme Court also dismissed the review ground filed by AIIMS and held that medical termination of an unwanted pregnancy cannot be refused on the ground of advanced stage of pregnancy or normal condition of the fetus.
Not allowing termination on that basis would “render the right to bodily autonomy irrelevant,” the court said.
Key things
- The Supreme Court strengthens the principle of bodily autonomy of minors in cases of rape.
- Existing laws regarding termination of pregnancy should evolve to accommodate the rights of rape victims.
- The court’s decision highlights the need for timely legal processes to alleviate the trauma young victims experience.
