Nod to woman for foetal reduction at pvt hospital

The Bombay High Court on Thursday permitted a woman to terminate her 27week pregnancy at a private hospital as the governmentrun hospital does not have the facility of selective foetal reduction. During the medical procedure, the foetus’ heart sound is stopped before the termination of pregnancy is undertaken.

The woman sought to undergo selective foetal reduction for medically terminating her pregnancy due to congenital abnormalities. The medical board at the JJ Hospital had permitted her to undergo the termination procedure. The board, however, had also stated that if the baby is born alive during the procedure then it would be admitted in the neonatal intensive care unit.

The woman, however, urged the court to permit her to undertake the procedure at a private hospital of her choice under the supervision of her doctor. She also expressed apprehension over the birth of a live baby and sought for selective foetal reduction.

The court has earlier asked whether the woman could undergo the procedure at JJ hospital or civic run Cooper Hospital. State Advocate General Birendra Saraf informed a bench headed by Justice AS Chandurkar that while the woman could undergo the selective foetal reduction, the facility was not available at Cooper Hospital or JJ Hospital. He said that she could be referred to Wadia Hospital, which receives funds from the government and is partly managed by the BMC.

The woman’s advocate Meenaz Kakalia submitted that if the procedure has to be done at Wadia Hospital then she may be permitted to at least select the hospital of her own choice. She also submitted an affidavit by Cloudnine Hospital stating that it has the requisite approval from the civic body to carry out termination procedures and also the required facilities.