Rape victim, 13, to abort

MUMBAI: India’s highest court gave permission on Wednesday to a 13-year-old girl who was raped to end her resultant pregnancy, in a move praised by campaigners after the court rejected a similar petition by a 10-year-old girl several weeks earlier.

Activists want India to extend a 20-week deadline for abortions as they say it impacts victims of sexual assault, especially the young, and rape victims should be allowed to terminate pregnancies at any stage.

“This is a pathbreaking judgment by the Supreme Court,” said Nikhil Datar, a Mumbai-based gynaecologist supporting the girl’s petition.

“I hope the Supreme Court now gives directions to the government to make amendments to India’s abortion law.”

The case was among a string of petitions, backed by some of the country’s best known doctors, health charities and lawyers, seeking abortions at India’s top court.

The girl asked the court to terminate her pregnancy after her parents took her to a doctor worried about obesity.

As the teenager is 31 weeks’ pregnant, the baby will probably be delivered alive via caesarean, said one of the doctors on the medical board set up by the Supreme Court to examine the case.

The Hindu newspaper reported that the judges approved the abortion on the grounds of a report submitted by the medical board examining the case.

Campaigners said the board should have the power to approve terminations, not the court, to save time.

“The girl’s pregnancy was detected at 27 weeks, but she waited another four weeks for the judgement,” said Subha Sri, chairwoman of Commonhealth, a coalition of health charities.

“We need a clear mechanism to avoid such delays.”