Karnataka High Court allows rape survivor to abort her 21-week-old foetus

Source: scroll.in

The Karnataka High Court allowed a rape survivor to terminate her 21-week-old foetus, Live Law reported on Tuesday. The court directed the Vani Vilas hospital in Bengaluru to carry out the termination of pregnancy. It also asked the investigating officer in the case to preserve the foetus and carry out DNA test.

“District medical board has submitted a report that petitioner is in a fit mental and physical condition to undergo the medical termination,” Justice Alok Aradhe said while allowing the 18-year-old woman to abort her foetus. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act bars termination of pregnancy beyond 20 weeks.

The court also allowed the complainant’s plea to direct the District Legal Services Authority to disburse compensation under the Karnataka Victim Compensation Scheme. The court asked the authority to disburse Rs 3 lakh within three weeks from the date of the receipt of the certified copy of the order. The court also ordered the deputy commissioner of police to give Rs 75,000 to the complainant.

In December 2018, the Karnataka High Court had allowed a 29-year-old woman to abort her 21-week-old foetus. The woman had sought permission to terminate the pregnancy as organs in the lower abdomen and spine of the foetus had not developed properly and the child would be handicapped after birth.