Plea for termination of pregnancy: SC asks medical board to assess condition of woman

The woman, who is married and already has two children, has moved the apex court seeking its approval to terminate her pregnancy citing medical grounds, including that she is suffering from postpartum depression.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, to constitute a medical board to assess the medical condition of a woman, who is over 24-week pregnant and is seeking permission to terminate it.

The woman, who is married and already has two children, has moved the apex court seeking its approval to terminate her pregnancy citing medical grounds, including that she is suffering from postpartum depression.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and B V Nagarathna asked the Delhi-based woman to present herself before the medical board on Friday. It has posted the matter for further hearing on October 9.

During the hearing, the bench questioned the petitioner's counsel as to why he directly approached the apex court instead of moving the Delhi High Court. The counsel said the woman came to know about her pregnancy at a belated stage and now she was in her 25th week of pregnancy.

Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, the upper limit for the termination of pregnancy is 24 weeks for married women, special categories including survivors of rape, and other vulnerable women such as the differently-abled and minors.