The Bombay High Court on Friday allowed a woman to terminate her 30-week pregnancy after a medical board appointed by the court found that the child might not survive and continuation of the pregnancy would be dangerous for petitioner’s life.
The court also said that as the petitioner and her husband are currently undergoing treatment for Covid-19, the aid agencies of the Maharashtra government should take responsibility for the child if born alive, till the time the petitioner undergoes treatment.
A division bench of Justice S C Gupte and Justice Abhay Ahuja passed the order while hearing a writ plea filed advocates Arvind Tiwari and Santosh Patil on behalf of the woman. She had learnt about her pregnancy last September. While initial tests did not indicate any abnormality of the foetus, tests conducted last month did so. As she was advised against continuation of the pregnancy, she approached the HC.
On April 12, the HC referred the case to a medical board constituted by the dean of state-run J J hospital in Mumbai, which submitted its report on Thursday. It found that the pregnancy can be terminated with due risk.
