Mumbai: Woman with conjoined twins to avoid MTP

MUMBAI: A 30-week pregnant woman carrying conjoined twins with a shared heart and liver told Bombay high court on Wednesday she will carry the pregnancy to full term.

The 22-year-old woman was responding to the report of a medical board of JJ Hospital which stated that a medical termination via pre-term caesarean section would be more risky to her life compared to carrying the pregnancy till term and then performing a C-section.

The medical board was constituted by a bench of Justices Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and Burgess Colabawalla to advise it after the woman moved HC for permission as the law does not permit termination beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy, except in certain cases. The judges told her advocate Afreen Khan on Tuesday to inform her client of the report’s contents. Khan told the bench her client will go ahead with her pregnancy. “She does not want to undergo anything that will be a threat to her life,’’ she said, adding that hence the prayer for MTP will not be pressed.

The judges, after recording the board’s report and the woman’s statement, disposed of the matter. After dictating the order, they The judges told the government’s advocate to ensure she is given medical assistance when required.