Delhi HC allows termination of pregnancy of rape survivor

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has held that compelling a rape survivor to continue with a pregnancy resulting from sexual assault and forcing motherhood upon her against her will would seriously impair her right to live with dignity.The court made the observation while allowing a plea filed on behalf of a 15-year-old rape survivor seeking termination of her pregnancy, which had crossed 30 weeks of gestation, news agency PTI reported.Justice Madhu Jain said the fact that the pregnancy had crossed the statutory limit under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act could not, by itself, be considered in isolation in cases arising from sexual assault.’15-year-old cannot be reduced to description of mother’Justice Jain said courts exercising jurisdiction under Articles 226 or 32 of the Constitution must give due primacy to the best interests and welfare of the minor, while also taking into account the statutory framework under the MTP Act.

The court described the case as “unfortunate and distressing”, noting that the girl was only 15, had already suffered the trauma of an alleged heinous sexual assault and had lost both her parents.“A child of 15 years cannot, in the eyes of this court, be reduced to the description of a ‘mother’ merely because she has been forced into pregnancy as a consequence of sexual violence,” it said.The court said that while the law could provide remedies and procedures, no judicial order could undo the trauma the child had endured.Allowing the plea, the court directed the medical superintendent of Lady Hardinge Medical College and S K Hospital to arrange for termination of the pregnancy at the earliest and maintain a record of the procedure.The doctors were also directed to preserve the tissue or foetal material for DNA identification and other purposes in connection with the criminal case registered over the rape.