‘No immediate threat to mother’: Supreme Court rejects woman’s plea to terminate 26-week pregnancy

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the plea for termination of a pregnancy that has surpassed 26 weeks. The case pertains to a married woman’s plea for the termination of her pregnancy due to health concerns.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that given the advanced stage of the pregnancy at 26 weeks and 5 days, medical termination cannot be authorised. Furthermore, neither the mother’s health nor any fetal abnormality poses an immediate threat, the to pcourt said.

“The woman’s pregnancy is 26 weeks and 5 days old, there is no immediate threat to mother and this is not a case of foetal abnormality,” the Supreme Court observed.

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The decision came following a comprehensive evaluation by the AIIMS medical board, which confirmed the petitioner’s diagnosis of post-partum psychosis and ensured that her medication did not adversely affect the fetus.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had sought a second opinion from the AIIMS medical board regarding the presence of any fetal abnormalities in the over 26-week-old fetus.

This matter reached the bench as part of the Center’s request to reconsider the Supreme Court’s prior order from October 9, which had allowed the 27-year-old woman, a mother of two, to undergo pregnancy termination at AIIMS.

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Under the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, married women, special categories, including survivors of rape, and other vulnerable women, are permitted to terminate pregnancies up to 24 weeks.

The Supreme Court faced a conundrum over whether to grant permission for the termination of a pregnancy that has exceeded 26 weeks.

In earlier proceedings, the Supreme Court highlighted the balance between safeguarding the rights of the expecting mother and protecting the life of the unborn child.

Also Read: Supreme Court holds late-term pregnancy termination day after allowing it

This case reached the CJI-led bench after a two-judge panel rendered a split verdict regarding the Center’s plea to reconsider its October 9 decision, which had granted permission for the pregnancy termination.