Due to what could be called a legal complication or a delay in justice, an underage rape victim in the Churu region in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan gave birth despite her wishes.
When the girl and her widowed mother discovered the pregnancy, they reached out to the court, seeking permission to terminate it. At that time, the fetus was 20 weeks old, making it compulsory to seek approval for an abortion.
However, the legal battle hadn't been resolved by the time the fetus was 25 weeks old. Abortion in India can be performed on various grounds until 20 weeks of pregnancy.
For the minor girl, the process had started with approaching Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) court, which refused to hear the plea stating that the matter wasn’t under its jurisdiction. The minor girl then approached the Jodhpur High Court which issued notices to various agencies of the government asking them prepare a detailed medical report of the victim.
The medical report stated that the fetus 25 weeks old at the time and its heart had already started beating. Therefore, the girl could not be granted the permission to terminate the pregnancy.
Even though it’s legal to get an abortion in up to 20 weeks of pregnancy, rape victims approach court as doctors refuse carry out abortions for them. According to a report by Indian news website Scroll, 40 such petitions were filed between April 2016 and July 2019 in which doctors refused to perform abortion, and 33 of these comprised petition of rape victims.
Meanwhile, the government will introduce the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in Lok Sabha on 2 March (Monday). Proposing to increase the legal pregnancy termination period from 20 weeks to 24 weeks, the bill aims to provide comprehensive, qualitative and safe abortion care for women.
After the cabinet meeting that cleared the bill for tabling in Parliament, Federal Minister Prakash Javadekar had said the proposed law would enhance the reproductive rights of women in India.
