Delhi high court recalls Jan 4 order allowing termination of widow’s pregnancy

The Delhi high court on Tuesday recalled a January 4 order allowing the termination of a 23-year-old widow’s 29-week pregnancy over mental health issues following her husband’s death. A bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad issued the fresh judgment, a detailed copy of which was awaited.

The court on January 4 said the woman was under immense trauma and had suicidal tendencies. It added that continuing pregnancy could impair her mental stability, citing her psychiatric evaluation report.

The woman found she was 20-week pregnant in October. In December, she opted for the termination but the doctors refused to perform the procedure citing over 24 week gestation period.

On January 6, Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) wrote to the court citing the risks involved. The Union health ministry and AIIMS urged the court to reconsider its decision to allow abortion even as the woman expressed reluctance to deliver.

The government argued the foetus has a fair chance of survival and that the court should consider protecting the right to life of the unborn.

In its January 6 report, AIIMS suggested that the anticipated requirement of intensive care would range from 30-45 days with reasonable risk of physical and mental health of the child. But the same would be minimal if the pregnancy is carried on until 37 weeks.

In its January 12 report, AIIMS said that preterm induction of labour had a high chance of failure, which may lead to caesarean section and have serious implications on the woman’s future pregnancies, and also lead to significant abnormality of the foetus.

On January 15, the court directed a panel of AIIMS doctors to carry out the woman’s psychiatric assessment, since her foetus was over 31 weeks. The direction came following a medical report citing complications to the woman’s health and the foetus.

The court, whose proceedings were conducted in-camera, directed the doctors to file another report on the woman’s physical and mental well-being and counsel her for three days.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act allows the termination of pregnancy between 20 and 24 weeks on account of a change in marital status through widowhood or divorce, mental anguish, rape, assault, health complications, etc.