Woman approaches Bombay HC to terminate 27-week pregnancy

The petitioner approached court as Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, does not allow for termination of a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks. (Representational Image)

A 27-week pregnant woman, who suffers from epilepsy, has approached the Bombay High Court, seeking permission to terminate her pregnancy. The HC has sought expert opinion from KEM hospital as to whether termination of the pregnancy at this stage is possible.

The woman, who is married and is a resident of Mira road, in her petition states that she suffers from epilepsy and experiences several side-effects are due to medication. One of the side-effects is that they can delay periods, or affect the menstrual cycle. “As a result many women taking such medication may not realise when they are pregnant. Some side-effects can affect an unborn baby,” the petition states.

The petition further states that around February, the woman began to experience abdominal pain. She visited her physician along with her husband. She was informed that the pain could be a side-effect of the medication that the petitioner was taking to treat the epilepsy. In July, the woman again visited the physician because of pain. The doctor recommended her to undergo a few tests but the results did not indicate anything, so she was told to undergo a sonography.

The sonography reports revealed that she was 27 weeks pregnant and the foetus suffers from a number of defects like the cardiac structures are not seen well due to overlying fetal bones, both kidneys are not seen as well as the stomach bubble and fetal urinary bladder. The petitioner approached court as Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, does not allow for termination of a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks.

A division bench of Justice Naresh H Patil and Justice G S Kulkarni on Wednesday directed the Dean, KEM Hospital, to constitute a committee of experts in the field to examine the petitioner. “A report be submitted to the court in respect of ‘as to whether termination of the pregnancy at this stage is possible’, as it is informed that the petitioner is carrying 27 weeks pregnancy,” the court said. The court has adjourned the case till August 13