Aborting Baby not Possible says High Court
Posted on August 5, 2008 in Current Affairs by Danteshwari
A raging debate has been on in the court whether a 25- week-old foetus can be aborted or not. It was a human drama indeed as it involved law, religion, medicine, ethics. The debate raised certain important issues regarding medical termination of pregnancy, whether there was a need to change the present law structure.
The Mehtas- Haresh and Nikita- the young couple were keen on terminating Nikita’s pregnancy, as the child to be born will have complete congenital blockages of the heart, and will have malpositioned arteries. The child may require a pacemaker to be implanted immediately after birth. Under such circumstances they felt termination of the pregnancy would be the best thing to do.
The Bombay High court dismissed the plea for termination. This decision of the court disillusioned the couple, who felt dejected and disheartened. They were neither in a position to blame God or society or the system.
The division bench consisting of Justices Amjad Sayed and R.M.S Khandeparkar held the view that the couple as well as their gynaecologist Dr. Nikhil Datar, who filed the petition against the existing law, were unable to establish a case that showed that the child to be born would face much risk of severe mental and physical disability.
The bench also felt that the doctor and the couple could not establish proper grounds for the court to come into the picture and make this an exceptional case for the exercising of court’s extraordinary jurisdiction.
Source TOI Aug.5th,2008
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