Court allows teen rape survivor to end 31-week pregnancy, cites reproductive freedom

During the ruling, the Bombay High Court mentioned the recent Supreme Court judgment wherein a minor was allowed to end her 30-week pregnancy.

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday allowed a 16-year-old rape survivor to terminate her 31-week pregnancy. The division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande recognised the teen's intention to direct her own reproductive path and took into cognisance the opinion of the medical board concerned that said an abortion would not pose any physical or psychological threat to the 16-year-old.

The bench noted that the pregnancy surpassed the 24-week limit under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, but stressed that it was outside marriage and the teen was against continuing with it. She had asserted her "autonomy and right not to deliver a child on completion of the gestational period". The High Court permitted the medical termination subject to her mother's written consent and all required medical precautions.

During the ruling, the bench mentioned the recent Supreme Court ruling in which a minor in Mumbai was permitted to have her 30-week pregnancy medically terminated. The bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that no court can push a woman – definitely not a minor – to continue with an unwanted pregnancy, highlighting the primacy of reproductive autonomy.

Previously, the medical board at Thane Civil Hospital had refrained from recommending or opposing the procedure for pregnancies exceeding 24 weeks, noting that their involvement is restricted to factual presentations before the court. A new submission dated February 17, clarified the board's function in such cases—affirming that a court ruling was required. The most recent opinion from the board revealed that terminating the pregnancy immediately would pose no threat to the girl's health or inflict physical or psychological harm.

Advocate Saloni Ghule, representing the teen petitioner, told the court that she misunderstood the process and assumed "the procedure can happen in a day, and she can get rid of the child in a day". Medical staff made it clear that, due to the advanced gestational stage, she would have to undergo the process of normal delivery, even in the case of a medical termination. Ghule further told the bench that the minor had not been given adequate explanation or advice to make an informed decision.

The High Court, however, rejected a request to shift the 16-year-ild to a hospital in Ulhasnagar. It directed the existing Thane Board, consisting of the two gynaecologists who had examined her before, to remain involved in the matter. The judges further said that the abortion be carried out at the Civil Hospital, Thane, preferably with the same gynaecologists either participating or overseeing the procedure.