Mumba

Bombay HC rejects plea seeking termination of Down Syndrome foetus

A 33-year-old woman, pregnant with twins, had filed the petition after she got medical confirmation that one of the foetuses suffered from an untreatable chromosomal anomaly which would cause substantial risk of mental or physical disability.

The Bombay High Court rejected the petition filed by a 33-year-old woman from Dahisar, pregnant with twins, who wanted the termination of one of the foetuses diagnosed with Down Syndrome allowed.

The Division Bench of Justice R.D. Dhanuka and Justice Abhay Ahuja rejected the petition based on recommendations of a medical board that it had referred the woman to.

On May 15, the court had referred the woman to a medical board of the JJ Hospital and Grant Medical College, and had asked the board to submit a report by May 22. The board, however, made recommendations contrary to the woman’s demands, following which the Bench rejected the petition.

The woman had filed a petition stating that she had gone through a maternal screening test on April 29, and then again on May 7 and found complications in one of her foetuses. The second test results showed that the foetus suffered from Down Syndrome, following which, on May 11, she took a second opinion from a gynaecologist and obstetrician who informed her that the foetus suffered from an untreatable chromosomal anomaly which would cause substantial risk of mental or physical disability.

This prompted her to file a petition in the High Court seeking permission to terminate one foetus claiming that the gynaecologist had informed her that terminating one foetus would pose no higher risk to her in comparison to the delivery itself.

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