10yearold rape survivor’s abortion process complete

The abortion process of 10-year-old Rohtak rape victim was completed by the doctors at PGIMS on Friday. “It was a simple process, but her young age caused hurdles,” said Dr Raj Singh Sangwan, chairman, child welfare committee.

SHE WILL BE KEPT UNDER OBSERVATION FOR A FEW MORE DAYS

ROHTAK: Doctors terminated the unwanted pregnancy of the 10-year-old Rohtak rape survivor on Friday, completing a procedure that took almost 48 hours of medication because of her age.

They ruled out any complication, saying the girl was fine.

“The medicines expelled the foetus out of the body,” said Dr Prashant Kumar, spokesperson of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), where the girl is being treated.

She will be kept under observation for a few more days. The girl was admitted to PGIMS after her mother found out she was pregnant. The child accused her 20-year-old stepfather of raping her multiple times and coercing her to not speak out about it.

Her condition triggered a debate as India’s strict antiabortion law prohibits medical termination of foetuses above 20 weeks, except when the mother’s life is under risk. An eight-member medical board of PGIMS cleared the abortion after it deduced the foetus’s age to be anywhere between 18 and 22 weeks. A local court agreed to go ahead with the board’s decision, clearing the legal hurdle for the procedure.

The doctors began the process on Wednesday, administering a cocktail of medicines.

“It was a very simple process but there were many hurdles due to her age,” said Dr Raj Singh Sangwan, chairman of the district child welfare committee (CWC).

The child will be brought to CWC office after discharge from hospital.

“The CWC will counsel her and see where she wants to go,” deputy superintendent of police, Pushpa Khatri, said.

Police are rounding up their investigation to ensure punishment for the stepfather although his wife has argued that he hasn’t committed an “unpardonable crime” and should be released from jail.

“We will send the DNA samples for tests in Madhuban and soon file a report in court,” Khatri said.