The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a Mumbai woman, who is in her 24th week of pregnancy, to undergo termination after a report indicated that the foetus did not have a skull.
A Bench of Justices S.A. Bobde and L. Nageswara Rao took into consideration the report of the medical board of King Edward Memorial hospital, which suggested that the foetus would not be able to survive without a skull.
“We consider it appropriate and in the interest of justice, particularly the right of the petitioner to preserve her life by permitting her to undergo the termination of pregnancy under the Medical Termination Of Pregnancy Act,” the Bench said.
The Bench also directed that the termination of pregnancy be performed by a team of doctors of the hospital, which shall maintain a complete record of the procedure adopted in the matter.
Referring to the report of a seven-member medical board, it said, “the medical evidence clearly suggests that there is no point in allowing the petitioner to run in full course since the foetus would not be able to survive outside the uterus without a skull.”
