Doctors in the city welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday permitting a woman to terminate her 24-week pregnancy as the foetus was abnormal, setting aside the law.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act permits termination of pregnancy on medical grounds, including foetal abnormalities and health risks for the mother, up to 20 weeks.
The apex court was petitioned by the woman after doctors refused to abort the foetus as the pregnancy was beyond 20 weeks.
“The decision is welcomed though we are not sure if it would apply broadly. In many cases, abnormalities, like those of the heart, may not be apparent until 20 weeks or the mother may consult a doctor beyond this period, as we often see when dealing with patients from rural areas,” said obstetrician J.V. Reddy, also the Superintendent of State-run Gandhi Hospital. According to a doctor affiliated with the Indian Medical Association (IMA), abnormalities found after the 20-week period of gestation puts doctors and mothers in a fix as they cannot abort the foetus legally.
Consequently, refusal by a qualified practitioner to abort puts vulnerable mothers at the mercy of quacks that can be life-threatening.
“In such a case, doctors may also be sympathetic to the family and perform an abortion by inducing a pregnancy with prostaglandins,” the doctor said while also pointing out the use of such compounds in Indian States with low female sex ratio at birth. “Seeking the court’s intervention is uncommon though such terminations are not,” the doctor pointed out. However, medical professionals opine that the debate around abortion is often held in the context of female foeticide, ignoring its need in third trimester pregnancies when debilitating congenital anomalies are found.
“I applaud the decision of the court. Though we perform a scan at around 20 weeks, anomalies can go undetected until after this period. I hope the decision paves the way for changes in the act considering such pregnancies,” said A. Bhavani, a senior city-based gynaecologist.
