MADURAI
Taking into account the welfare of a 17-year-old girl from Sivaganga district who wanted to continue her studies, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday allowed her to terminate her pregnancy.
Justice M. S. Ramesh, who heard the case, said it had been
ascertained by qualified medical practitioners that the girl was medically fit for termination of pregnancy. The termination was allowed under Section 3 (1) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 after it was ascertained that the girl’s gestation period did not exceed 20 weeks.
The pregnancy was allowed to be terminated under Section 3 (2) of the MTP Act , 1971, by which a registered medical practitioner could terminate the pregnancy after obtaining opinion from two registered medical practitioners.
The petition was filed by the father representing the girl, who was in a relationship with a boy when she was 16 years old. However, as she was determined to complete her studies, she sought termination of her pregnancy.