New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday (February 1) refused to allow a widowed woman who is 32 weeks pregnant to undergo an abortion. The court noted that the medical board had opined against the termination of pregnancy, and the bench suggested that the woman could put the baby up for adoption once it is born, Livelaw reported.“There is no abnormality in the foetus. It is a full-fledged, normal-bodied child. This is not the case we should entertain,” the bench headed by Justice Bela M. Trivedi said.“It is just a question of another two weeks or so. Even the government is willing to take the child for adoption. The medical board says her life will be at risk in a pre-term pregnancy. We cannot permit it. All these points have been considered by the high court,” the Supreme Court bench held.In her petition, the 26-year-old woman had argued that the pregnancy was causing her mental trauma and depression. “She is a widow and she does not want to live with this trauma. This pregnancy is against her choice and wishes that will cause further trauma,” her advocate, Rahul Sharma, had said in court.The bench held that it had to think of both the woman and the unborn child.The Delhi high court had previously permitted the abortion but reversed its decision after medical opinions suggested that the foetus was healthy, Hindustan Times reported. The woman then challenged the Delhi high court’s January 23 order which said the foetus does not show any abnormality and so a termination of pregnancy would not be justified.The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Rules permit a woman to terminate her pregnancy up to 24 weeks with certain conditions.
