Supreme Court notice to govts on plea for late abortion

New Delhi: The Supreme Court issued a notice on Wednesday to the Centre and the West Bengal government seeking a direction for the termination of a foetus more than 20 weeks old as it was suspected that the foetus suffered from tetrology of fallot, a combination of four impairments in the heart.

A vacation bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Sanjay Kishan Kaul issued notice and posted the writ petition filed by Sarmishtha Chakraborty and her husband Anirban Chakraborty for further hearing on June 23. The petitioners also challenged the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (MTP), which put a ceiling of 20 weeks for the termination of pregnancy.

The petitioners submitted that it was during a foetal echocardiography conducted on May 25 that it was first suspected that the foetus suffered from tetrology of fallot. Further, a subsequent foetal echocardiography done on May 30 confirmed the same. However, as the foetus had crossed the 20-week, mark it could not be aborted, though it may be safe to do so.

Hence, the denial of her right to an abortion has caused the petitioner extreme anguish and has forced her to continue her pregnancy while being aware that the foetus may not survive, the submission said.

They said Medical Opinion provided by Dr. Devi Shetty stated that, from his experience of having treated more than 1000 of infants with a similar condition, has been that most of these children do not live till adult life even after multiple corrective surgeries that are necessary to sustain life and that individuals with this condition remain completely dependent on others to care for them due to the complexity of the problem resulting in very low oxygenation of the body.

Hence the continuation of pregnancy is going to gravely injure her mental and physical health and that the overriding consideration here is that she has a right to take all such steps as necessary to preserve her own life against unavoidable danger to it, the petition said and sought a direction to allow the pregnancy to be terminated.