Nainital: The Uttarakhand High Court, in a landmark judgement, on Wednesday, has allowed a minor rape survivor to opt for abortion. The court allowed immediate abortion taking into account her age and the age of the foetus she was carrying. The court has directed the chief medical officer, Dehradun, to constitute a medical board to examine the girl's condition and submit the report of the same by December 9.
The rape survivor is only 13 years old and is 25 weeks and four days pregnant. Since the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971 does not allow abortion over 24 weeks, the girl's father approached the High Court here. The single bench of High Court's senior judge Sanjay Kumar Mishra granted conditional permission for the abortion after considering a panel of doctors constituted by the HC.
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The victim and her father appeared virtually before the court at the hearing after filing a petition in the HC for the termination of the unwanted pregnancy. According to the victim's father, the pregnancy resulted from sexual harassment by a close relative. The court asked the medical board to consult the girl's father since the medical procedure entails risk to the minor's life and health.
The court also asked Dr Chitra Joshi, head of the Dehradun hospital, to use her discretion in case of any danger or complications. Citing the MTP Act of 1971 and the Supreme Court and other HCs' orders in special circumstances, the court took this decision. The court asked the girl's father to provide in writing the statements made by him in the court and also underlined that the abortion should be done at the earliest.
