High Court allows woman to abort 26-week foetus suffering from hernia

The Bombay High Court on Thursday allowed a 25-yearold woman to abort her pregnancy since it has crossed the permissible 20-week limit. The woman claimed that her foetus is detected with hernia.

The woman, a resident of Solapur, along with her husband, had approached the vacation bench of Justice Shahrukh Kathawala and Justice Ajay Gadkari. She sought permission to abort her 26-weeks pregnancy as per the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.

It may be noted that under the MTP Act, a foetus beyond the age of 20-weeks cannot be aborted without obtaining permission from the High Court. The judges while granting her permission to abort the foetus considered the report submitted by a medical board under the Dean of JJ hospital. The medical board had confirmed the findings of the report submitted by a paediatric surgeon of Nanavati hospital, whom the woman had consulted before moving the HC.

The paediatric surgeon's report stated that there was hernia on the liver of the child. The report stated,"The diaphragmatic hernia, detected in the foetus, has a poor prognosis of survival. There is a chance that the baby may not survive after birth in spite of best efforts. There could be other congenital or genetic abnormalities associated with this condition which may get revealed after the birth."

Having considered the medical board's report, the judges allowed the woman to terminate her pregnancy. The woman has been asked to get admitted to any hospital of her choice by Friday so that her abortion can be conducted.

A report submitted by a paediatric surgeon of Nanavati hospital stated, ”The diaphragmatic hernia, detected in the foetus, has a poor prognosis of survival. There is a chance that the baby may not survive after birth in spite of best efforts. There could be other congenital or genetic abnormalities associated with this condition which may get revealed after the birth.”