Denying abortion an affront to dignity: HC

RELIEF FOR RAPE VICTIM- 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL

- Richa Banka

Refusing a woman the right to abortion and fastening her to the responsibility of motherhood amounts to denying her the right to live with dignity, the Delhi high court has ruled, allowing a 14-year-old minor rape victim to terminate her 25-week pregnancy.

In a judgment passed on Wednesday but made public on Thursday, justice Swarn Kanta Sharma asserted that a woman holds the right to make reproductive choices about her body, which includes saying yes or no to giving birth to a child, and added that to force the victim to give birth to child of a man who sexually assaulted her would result in unexplainable miseries.

"In the case of sexual assault, denying a woman right to say no to medical termination of pregnancy and fasten her with responsibility of motherhood would amount to denying her the human right to live with dignity as she has a right in relation to her body which includes saying 'Yes' or 'No' to being a mother. Section 3(2) of the MTP Act reiterates that right of a woman. To force the victim to give birth to child of a man who sexually assaulted would result in unexplainable miseries," the court said. "...it is not in dispute that a female invariably has a right to make reproductive choices and decisions which are concerned with her bodily integrity and autonomy," the 22-page judgment added.

The court noted that the victim, the daughter of construction workers, lost crucial time in approaching the court through the high court's legal services committee due to financial constraints. Therefore, it issued a slew of guidelines for the police in cases where pregnancy exceeded 24 weeks to ensure that the process of termination is expedited and the health of the mother is not affected. At the time of medical examination of a victim of sexual assault, it will be mandatory to conduct a urine pregnancy test, the court said.