The Delhi High Court has held that compelling a rape survivor to continue with a pregnancy resulting from sexual assault and forcing motherhood upon her against her will would seriously impair her right to live with dignity.
The court made the observation while allowing the plea of a 15-year-old rape survivor seeking termination of her pregnancy, which had crossed 30 weeks of gestation.
Justice Madhu Jain, in an order passed September 8, said the advanced stage of pregnancy could not be considered in isolation from the minor’s rights to bodily autonomy, dignity and reproductive choice.
"In cases arising out of sexual assault, compelling a survivor to continue with a pregnancy resulting from the assault and thereby fastening upon her the responsibility of motherhood against her will would amount to a serious impairment of her right to live with dignity," the court said.
The court noted that while the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act permits termination beyond 20 weeks and up to 24 weeks for specified categories of women subject to statutory conditions, the fact that the pregnancy had crossed the statutory limit could not, by itself, deprive the minor of consideration of her rights.
It said a woman's right over her body necessarily included the right to decide whether she wished to become a mother.
"To compel a survivor of sexual assault to carry and deliver a child conceived as a consequence of the alleged assault might subject her to further and enduring physical and psychological trauma," the court said.
The court, however, said the advanced gestational age required heightened medical caution and that any procedure would remain subject to an assessment of the girl's physical fitness, medical feasibility and other safeguards.
While exercising its constitutional jurisdiction, the court said it must give primacy to the best interests and welfare of the minor, while also considering the statutory framework under the MTP Act.
"Where the welfare and well-being of the pregnant woman or minor are under consideration, her reproductive autonomy, dignity and bodily integrity assume significant importance, particularly having regard to the peculiar facts and circumstances of each case," it said.
The court described the case as "unfortunate and distressing", noting that the girl had already endured the trauma of sexual assault and had lost both her parents.
At an age when she should have been protected and allowed to grow in safety and dignity, she was instead facing circumstances that no child should have to endure, the court said.
"A child of 15 years cannot, in the eyes of this court, be reduced to the description of a 'mother' merely because she has been forced into pregnancy as a consequence of sexual violence," it said.
The court said that while the law could provide remedies and procedures, no judicial order could undo the trauma suffered by the child.
"What the court can, however, do is ensure that, at a moment of such profound vulnerability, the child is met not with further hardship, but with care, dignity, compassion and the protection of the law," it said.
Allowing the plea, the court directed the medical superintendent of Lady Hardinge Medical College and S K Hospital to arrange for termination of the pregnancy at the earliest and maintain a record of the procedure.
The doctors were also directed to preserve the tissue or foetal material for DNA identification and other purposes in connection with the rape case.
The State will bear all expenses related to the procedure, including medicines, investigations, hospitalisation, food and other incidental medical requirements.
The court further directed that if the child was born alive despite the procedure, all feasible measures be taken for its medical care, following which the Child Welfare Committee would take further steps in accordance with law.
(With inputs from PTI)