Women's Freedom To Decide On Pregnancy Can't Be Taken Away: Kerala HC

The freedom of a woman to decide whether to continue with a pregnancy cannot be taken away, the Kerala High Court has said while allowing a petitioner with mild mental and physical disabilities to terminate her 22-week old pregnancy. The high court said that the right of a mother to terminate her pregnancy—if there was a strong possibility that after birth the child could suffer from abnormalities which could seriously handicap him or her—has been recognised by the courts.

A couple had approached the Court seeking directions to the respondents to allow the woman to terminate her pregnancy medically. It was alleged that since the outer time limit prescribed in the MTP Act for termination of the pregnancy is over, the respondents were refusing to terminate her pregnancy. The petitioner requisitioned the medical termination of the 22-week old foetus on the ground that continuance of the same would pose a risk to the mother's life and the baby would suffer from physical and mental abnormalities.

In the medical report that was submitted, it was disclosed that the foetus suffers from Klinefelter syndrome, a chromosomal anomaly associated with variable mental subnormality, endocrine problems, and psychological issues in later life. However, it also clarified that it is not a life-threatening disorder. After perusing the report, the high court said, “The freedom of a pregnant woman in making a choice as to whether the pregnancy should be continued cannot be taken away. Likewise, the right of the mother to terminate the pregnancy medically even after the permissible period in terms of the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, has been recognised by the courts, if there is substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.”