CHENNAI: A 17-year-old first-year nursing student from Tiruttani died Wednesday night from complications that developed following an illegal abortion performed allegedly by a nurse in an Andhra clinic on the insistence of the girl’s parents.
Tiruvallur district police on Thursday arrested the 45-year-old nurse, identified as Violet of Raja Clinic in Pannur village. The girl’s parents were also booked under relevant provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and the Child Marriage Prohibition Act while the girl’s 17-year-old boyfriend was booked under the Pocso Act.
Police sources said that the girl’s parents had opposed their relationship and the two teenagers had eloped earlier this month. Based on a missing complaint lodged on August 5, the police traced the pair within two days. The girl was five months pregnant and the couple had got married, police said.
Asked if the district Child Welfare Committee was informed about the case, police sources said that as the girl was comfortable returning with her parents, the police allowed them to take her home.
However, a few days later, the girl’s parents allegedly forced her to undergo an abortion that was arranged through a relative in Pannur, Andhra Pradesh, where Violet is alleged to have given her tablets for a medical termination at the Raja Clinic.
On taking the pills, the girl started bleeding profusely and was first taken to a nearby private hospital before being shifted to the Tiruvallur Government Hospital.
After one week of treatment, the girl died on Wednesday night, police said.
Police have arrested Violet for illegal medical practice, negligence and violations under the MTP Act.
The Act allows for medical termination of a pregnancy within 20 weeks (around five months) by a registered doctor. In the case of a minor, the termination may be performed with parental consent.
It may be noted that the SC in 2022 ruled that a minor may receive an abortion under the MTP Act without it being reported to the authorities as mandated by the Pocso Act if the pregnancy is the result of a consensual relationship and the child and guardian request confidentiality.