New Delhi: Delhi High Court has allowed a 15-year-old rape survivor to terminate her unwanted pregnancy of 30 weeks, saying that otherwise it “would amount to a serious impairment of her right to live with dignity”.“In cases arising out of sexual assault, compelling a survivor to continue with a pregnancy resulting from the assault and, thereby, fastening upon her the responsibility of motherhood against her will would amount to a serious impairment of her right to live with dignity,” the court said.At an age when a child ought to be protected, nurtured and allowed to grow in safety and dignity, she was instead compelled to confront circumstances which no child should ever have to face, the court said. “A child of 15 years cannot, in the eyes of this court, be reduced to the description of a ‘mother’ merely because she has been forced into pregnancy as a consequence of sexual violence,” it said.Under Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, termination of pregnancy beyond 20 weeks and up to 24 weeks is permissible for specified categories of women, subject to statutory requirements. But Justice Madhu Jain made a distinction in this case. The fact that the pregnancy had crossed the statutory limit, by itself, could not be viewed in isolation, the judge said.To compel a survivor of sexual assault to deliver a child conceived as a consequence of the alleged assault might subject her to further and enduring physical and psychological trauma, the court said.It stressed that while the advanced gestation of the pregnancy required greater medical caution, it could not by itself deprive the minor of the consideration of her right to bodily autonomy, dignity and reproductive choice.“Where the welfare and well-being of the pregnant woman or minor are under consideration, her reproductive autonomy, dignity and bodily integrity assume significant importance, particularly having regard to the peculiar facts and circumstances of each case,” it said.While allowing the plea, the court directed the medical superintendent of Lady Hardinge Medical College and SK Hospital to make arrangements for the termination of the pregnancy at the earliest and maintain a record of the procedure. It also asked the doctors to preserve the tissue or foetal material for DNA identification and other purposes in connection with the case.The state was directed to bear all the expenses, including the procedure, medicines, investigations, hospitalisation, food and incidental medical requirements.The court directed that if the child was born alive despite the medical procedure, all feasible measures be taken for its medical care, with the child welfare committee to take further steps in accordance with law.
