KOCHI: In a rare deviation from the usual court practice of granting permission for pregnancy termination, the High Court has declined the request of a minor rape survivor seeking to end her pregnancy, as it had reached an advanced stage. The court, while acknowledging the medical board’s report that continuing the pregnancy posed no threat to the girl’s health, directed the state government to assist the victim in giving the child up for adoption, should she choose to do so after delivery.
Justice V G Arun issued the order on the petition filed by the mother of the victim. Her daughter, a 17-year-old girl, is pregnant by 32 weeks. The pregnancy is allegedly the result of repeated instances of rape committed on the girl by her classmate. Neither the victim nor the petitioner was aware of the pregnancy until the girl was examined by a gynaecologist. By that time, the foetus had crossed the gestational age of 27 weeks and 6 days, thereby making it impossible to medically terminate the pregnancy without an order from the court. The petition said the girl was in utter shock and had been pleading to get the pregnancy terminated.
When the plea came up for hearing, the court directed the superintendent of the Kottayam Medical College to constitute a Medical Board for examining the girl.
The Medical Board’s report reveals that if the pregnancy is allowed to continue till 37 weeks of gestation, the baby will be mature and mostly survive without problems of prematurity. As per the psychiatrist, the survivor had no history of psychiatric disorder or signs of mental illness during evaluation. The Medical Board then said since the pregnancy is 32 weeks old, the termination will result in a baby with a high survival rate with complications of prematurity and if it is done by 37 weeks of gestation, the baby can survive without any problems.
“The report revealed that there was no threat to the physical and mental status of the mother if the pregnancy was continued till 37 weeks. Being so, the court can only decline the petition,” the court said.