SC allows termination of pregnancy in 24th week on medical grounds

January 16, 2017

New Delhi, Jan 16: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a woman in her 24th week of pregnancy to undergo abortion after a medical report found that the fetus was without a skull.

pregnancy
The 22-year-old woman hails from Maharashtra and a board of specialists recommended abortion as they noticed that the foetus was under-developed.

The Supreme Court had asked Parel's KEM Hospital to carry out the medical examination of the woman. The woman found out about the defect in the 21st week of gestation, which is beyond the 20-week limit for abortion set by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.

This is the fourth such case from the city to be brought to the Supreme Court's notice in the past three years.

The woman, resident of a western suburb, moved the apex court last week seeking its permission to abort the foetus that was detected with anencephaly, a serious defect where parts of the brain or skull are not adequately developed. The woman, along with her husband, approached Mahim-based gynaecologist Dr Sangeeta Pikale after several doctors refused to terminate the pregnancy as it was past the legal deadline.

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