The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear detailed arguments on a petition seeking to extend the legal limit on abortion under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (1971).
A Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi posted the case for December after senior advocate Colin Gonsalves argued that the current absolute 20 week limit in the Act violates women’s rights to bodily integrity.
The petition was filed by the NGO, Human Rights Law Network, on behalf of two women identified as only Mrs. X and Mrs. Y, who suffered pain and indignity caused by the 20-week limit on medical termination of pregnancy.
The petition said this limit extends to even cases of severe fetal abnormalities, forcing women to carry pregnancies to term even where the foetus may not survive delivery.
The court had on April 21 issued notice to the Centre and Maharashtra Government to respond to the petition.
