Court Can't Force Woman To Continue Pregnancy: Supreme Court Allows Minor's Medical Termination
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday, February 6 observed that a court cannot force a woman, including a minor, to permit the medical termination of a 30-week pregnancy of a girl who had become pregnant while she was a minor, Live Law reports.
The court said that the right of the minor child to continue pregnancy should be considered. A Bench of Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said that reproductive autonomy of the pregnant girl must be given due weight, particularly in circumstances where she has clearly expressed her unwillingness to continue the pregnancy, emphasizing the importance of reproductive autonomy, particularly for minors.
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The bench noted that the relationship’s consensual nature or allegations of sexual assault are irrelevant in this case, adding that the minor girl’s unwillingness to continue the pregnancy was a crucial factor in the court’s decision. The court pointed out that the pregnancy is “ex facie illegitimate” since the girl is a minor, while stressing the mother’s reproductive autonomy.
The court thus allowed the medical termination of the pregnancy, directing Mumbai’s JJ Hospital to perform the procedure while ensuring necessary medical safeguards. While noting that the decisive factor was the minor’s clear and consistent unwillingness to continue the pregnancy, Justice Nagarathna highlighted the difficult moral and legal questions involved.
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“If the interest of the mother is to be taken note of, then her reproductive autonomy must be given sufficient emphasis. The court cannot compel any woman much less a minor child to complete her pregnancy if she is otherwise not intending to do so,” the top court underlined.
