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On account of severe abnormalities, medical termination of pregnancy of 24-weeks old foetus allowed: Kerala High Court

The High Court of Kerala, through learned judge, Justice P.V Asha in the case  Alfiya Beevi v. State of Kerala | WP (C) No. 2869 of 2021 allowed for medical termination of 24-weeks old foetus, on account of severe abnormalities. 

BRIEF FACTS OF THE CASE: The petitioner, a 21 year old woman, filed the Writ Petition producing medical reports, seeking a direction to the respondents to carry out medical termination of her pregnancy. The scan reports showed severe abnormalities to the foetus. The gestation average age of the foetus was 24 weeks. Her husband was employed abroad and he also desired to get the pregnancy terminated. When the matter came up for admission, the court passed an interim order, directing the additional 6th respondent to constitute a Medical Board and to examine and report the medical condition of the petitioner and the foetus. The report of the medical board, also showed that grave abnormalities have been found in the foetus.

JUDGEMENT: The court relied on the decisions in Sarmishtha Chakrabortty v. Union of India: (2018) 13 SCC 339, Meera Santosh Pal v. Union of India: (2017) 3 SCC 462, n ABC v. Union of India  2020(2) KHC 526, Neethu Narendran v. State of Kerala: 2020(3)KHC 157 and directed the 6th respondent to see that the termination of pregnancy of the petitioner was carried out at the earliest, by competent doctors in accordance with the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act,1971, its rules and all other rules, regulations and guidelines prescribed for the purpose. In all the above-mentioned cases, the court had allowed for medical termination of pregnancy beyond the legally permissible limit of 20-weeks, taking into consideration the physical as well as mental agony of the mother and the abnormalities of the foetus. 

JUDGEMENT REVIEWED BY – AMRUTHA K

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