Termination of rape survivor’s pregnancy: Board call today

:The Dholpur principal medical officer constituted on Tuesday a board that will decide on termination of a 14-week pregnancy of a gang rape survivor.

“The medical board will submit by Wednesday its opinion on whether the pregnancy can be terminated or not,” said principal medical officer (PMO) Janardhan Singh.

The Rajasthan high court asked the Dholpur district medical officer on May 25 to set up a medical board to consider the girl’s request for termination of pregnancy.

“A board of three doctors has been set up to comply with the HC order,” Janardhan Singh said. The girl has been admitted to the Dholpur district hospital, he said.

The 16-year-old girl charged a boy of her village with raping her on February 1. The girl, in her FIR, alleged that a friend of the boy filmed the act, and the two then sexually exploited her for two months, threatening to put the video on social media.

When the girl’s family members knew about her pregnancy in April, she told them about the sexual assault. “The family lodged a complaint against two men – Durg Kushwaha and Babloo Kushwaha – on April 17 for gang-raping the girl repeatedly,” said the girl’s counsel in the high court.

The two accused are in judicial custody.

Three doctors – BD Jindal, Anjali Agarwal and Seema Garg – will decide if the pregnancy can be terminated or not, said the Dholpur PMO who heads the medical board.

The girl was pregnant for 12 weeks when she got the last ultrasound scan done on May 8. She was pregnant for 14 weeks when the HC ordered for setting up of a medical board.

According to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, pregnancy of more than 12 weeks but less than 20 weeks can be terminated if two or more registered medical practitioners are of the opinion that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or cause grave injury to physical or mental health.

The law says anguish caused by a pregnancy from rape is presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman.

The girl’s father said the he would marry her off after the pregnancy was terminated.