The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the medical superintendent of Vanivilas Hospital, Bengaluru, to constitute a medical board for examining a 29-year-old woman, who has filed a petition for terminating her 21-week pregnancy as the foetus has abnormalities that would make the child severely handicapped after birth.
Justice B. Veerappa passed the order on a petition filed by Anu (name changed) seeking permission for terminating the pregnancy as the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, prohibits doctors from terminating pregnancy beyond 20 weeks.
It has been pointed out in the petition that the recent medical examination of the foetus had revealed that some parts of the intestine and the spine have not developed, and the doctors examining her have advised termination of pregnancy.
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The court has directed the petitioner to appear before the medical board for examination on December 14 while directing the hospital’s medical superintendent to submit the report to the court in a sealed cover on December 17.