Bombay HC Approves Late-Term Abortion for 19-Year-Old Due to Mental Distress and Late-Term Abortion

In a landmark legal development, the Bombay High Court has allowed a 19-year-old woman to terminate her 25-week pregnancy, emphasising her autonomous right to decide over her body. The court's decision underlines the importance of mental health considerations in reproductive rights.

The woman, who was suffering from severe psychological distress and societal stigma, sought a medical termination of her pregnancy before the court. A division bench of Justices Somasekhar Sundaresan and N.R. Borkar recognised her "sovereign entitlement to make an autonomous choice about her body and to exercise it in the form of opting for medical termination."

A medical board from Sassoon Hospital examined the petitioner and submitted a report stating that "considering the woman's current psychological status, sociocultural and economic conditions, continuation of pregnancy can lead to grave psychological injury." The board opined that she would suffer "grave psychological injury if the pregnancy is continued."

It has also spoken to the role that the woman's partner should have played in deciding her fate. The state's lawyer, Kavita Solunke, contended that the partner has an interest in the decision. The bench said it disagrees and points to a recent Supreme Court judgment, holding that the partner is "not a stakeholder in the choice of exercise of reproductive right by the pregnant person."

After satisfying herself that the petitioner was well-informed of the procedure and had given consent, the court allowed the termination to be done at Sassoon Hospital, Pune, Maharashtra. The bench felt that the hospital would conduct the procedure sensitively, with regard to the petitioner's emotional and mental health.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Pragati Sakhuja/MSM)