Nagpur: Quoting Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that unmarried women cannot be denied the benefits available to married women under Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Monday allowed an 18-year-old unmarried student to medically terminate her 22-week pregnancy.A division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode allowed the petition filed by the woman through counsel Sweety Bhatia after a medical board at Govt Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here certified she was fit to undergo the procedure.The petitioner, aged 18 years and six months, told the court that she was an unmarried student, dependent on parents, and that continuing the pregnancy would subject her to severe mental and medical trauma. She sought permission to terminate her 22-week pregnancy under the provisions of the MTP Act.On July 3, the bench directed the GMCH dean to constitute a medical board to examine the petitioner and submit a report on her health condition and medical suitability for termination of pregnancy. The medical board in its report placed before the court on Monday, stated that the petitioner was mentally and physically fit to undergo medical termination of pregnancy and approved the procedure.Appearing for the state, assistant govt pleader Hrishikesh Marathe submitted that neither the provisions of MTP Act nor the standard operating procedure issued under Maharashtra govt resolution of June 3, 2024, specifically contemplated a case where an unmarried woman would seek judicial approval for termination of pregnancy.Petitioner’s counsel Bhatia relied on the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in the case filed against principal secretary, health and family welfare department of Delhi govt in 2023.The bench reproduced the apex court’s observations that there was “no rationale for excluding unmarried or single women” from the ambit of Rule 3-B and that limiting its benefit only to married women would be “discriminatory towards unmarried women and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.”Quoting the Supreme Court’s directives, the HC further mentioned that “the rights of reproductive autonomy, dignity, and privacy under Article 21 give an unmarried woman the right of choice on whether or not to bear a child, on a similar footing as a married woman.”Relying on the binding precedent of the Supreme Court and the medical board’s opinion, the bench granted permission for termination of the 22-week pregnancy.While allowing the woman’s petition, the court directed that the procedure be carried out by two registered medical practitioners, as recommended by the medical board, after obtaining the petitioner’s consent.
