Nainital (Uttarakhand): The Uttarakhand High Court heard the case of a 16-year-old rape victim. After hearing the matter, the court has directed the medical board to conduct abortion at 29 weeks of pregnancy to save the life of the victim. The court also said in its order that the life of the rape victim is more important than the foetus growing in the womb. This order is important because, under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, there is a provision to allow abortion only up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
In this case, the pregnancy period of the victim had crossed 29 weeks. The court has also ordered the medical board that the abortion of the victim should be done safely. The matter was heard in the single bench of vacation judge Justice Alok Kumar Verma.
According to the case, the victim of Garhwal mandal had filed a petition through her father in the High Court to allow abortion. According to the petitioner's advocate Monica Pant, the victim is 15-year-and-nine-month-old and became pregnant due to rape.
In these circumstances, if the petitioner is compelled to continue with her pregnancy, it would be contrary to her right to lead a life with human dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution. The victim will also suffer mental agony, if the child is born alive then what name will she give to it and on what basis will it be brought up. While he himself is a minor. She never wants to remember this moment.
On January 12, a case of rape was registered against the accused. Sonography of the victim was done on January 11, which revealed a pregnancy of more than 27 weeks and 4 days. Earlier, on 24 January, on the order of the court, the Medical Board was constituted and the report was presented in the court. In which the pregnancy was found to be 28 weeks and five days. The board concluded that abortion is a risk to the mother and it is not appropriate to terminate the pregnancy at the age of the victim. The court ordered that under the direction of the Medical Board, the Chief Medical Officer should start the process of abortion under the supervision of a gynecologist within 48 hours.
