Bombay High Court allows mentally challenged rape victim to abort 22-week-old foetus

Mumbai: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday permitted a mentally challenged victim of rape to abort her 22-week-old foetus. A bench of Justices RM Borde and Vibha Kankanwadi held that the victim had a right to exercise her choice, and accordingly, decide whether or not she wished to continue with the pregnancy that was a result of the physical abuse she had undergone.

HC’s order is also particularly significant since it ruled that given the fact that the victim was mentally challenged and incapable of deciding whether or not to continue with the pregnancy, her legal guardian must be allowed to take the decision on her behalf. The bench also cited the Supreme Court’s 2009 order that had held that a woman’s choice to exercise her reproductive choices was part of her personal liberty guaranteed by the constitution. “The freedom of making choices is an integral part of a woman’s personal liberty and it can not be taken away,” the bench said.

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As per the plea filed by the victim’s mother, the victim, a resident of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra, was raped and sexually abused by an unknown person in November this year. When the family realised that she was pregnant, they visited a local hospital for a medical termination of the pregnancy. However, the local hospital refused the abortion even though the victim was only 18 weeks pregnant at the time and could legally abort the foetus.

The local hospital authorities however, refused the abortion on the ground that the victim had a hearing and speaking disability, and was medically challenged, and thus, not capable of giving a clear consent to the abortion. The victim’s mother then moved the High Court.