Delhi High Court grants permission to terminate 25-week pregnancy

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday granted permission to a woman for medical termination of her 25-week pregnancy as the survival of the foetus, suffering from serious abnormalities, is unlikely.

The 25-year-old pregnant woman has sought permission to abort the foetus on the ground that it was suffering from Bilateral Renal Agenesis. 

Justice Navin Chawla allowed the plea considering the report of an AIIMS medical board that the condition is poor and ‘survival of foetus is unlikely’.

The high court, in the previous hearing, had directed the Medical Superintendent of AIIMS to constitute a board to examine the condition of the woman and  report on the possibility of the foetus not surviving the term of the pregnancy.

The court’s permission was required as the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act does not permit termination of pregnancy in case the period of gestation is more than 20 weeks.

Advocate Sneha Mukherjee, representing the woman, submitted that the foetus would not survive till childbirth as both the kidneys have not developed as yet and added that in the circumstances it would be futile to compel the petitioner to undergo the full terms of pregnancy.

The plea said during an ultra-sonography, conducted on the woman at the gestational age of 25 weeks, it was discovered that the fetus suffered from Bilateral Renal Agenesis (both kidneys absent) thereby making it incompatible with life.

In January, the union cabinet had approved the Medical Termination Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which provides for enhancing the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women including rape survivors, incest victim and other vulnerable women, like differently abled and minors.

(With PTI inputs)