Domestic violence ground for pregnancy termination, says Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has allowed a woman to abort her 23weekold healthy foetus while observing that domestic violence has an effect on a womans mental health and the same can be a valid ground for medically terminating her pregnancyThe judgment was passed by a bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Madhav Jamdar on August 3 and a copy of it was made available on TuesdayThe HC in its order also referred to the reproductive rights of women as envisaged by the WHOThe 22yearold woman a victim of domestic violence had been examined by a panel of experts at the staterun J J Hospital in Mumbai The panel held that while her foetus was healthy and had no abnormalities the woman had undergone much mental trauma and continuation of the pregnancy would add to such traumaIn her plea the woman told the HC that she and her husband were getting divorced and she did not wish to continue with the pregnancyThe current Medical Termination of Pregnancy MTP Act does not permit termination of a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks unless it poses health risks for the foetus and the mother However various apellatte courts as well as the Bombay HC have batted for womens mental health on several previous occasions and permitted termination of a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks if it poses a risk to a womans mental health and if a medical panel so advisesAn amendment to the Act which is yet to be implemented extends the time frame to 24 weeksIn the present case the HC said If contraception failure leading to pregnancy can be presumed to constitute grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman can it be said that a pregnant woman suffering from domestic violence would not face grave injury to her mental health if pregnancy is allowed to continue in the face of continuing domestic violence with a grim foreseeable futureReferring to the reproductive rights of women as envisaged by the World Health Organisation WHO the bench said The core issue is the control a woman has or exercises over her own body and reproductive choice Control over reproduction is a basic need and a basic right of all women Linked as it is to womens health and social status it is from the perspective of poor women or women of rural areas that this right can be best understoodThe HC further said Rape is an instance of extreme violence committed on a woman Domestic violence is also a violence committed on a woman though the degree might be lesserIt noted that the petitioner had said in her plea that in the event the child was born she would not receive requisite financial and emotional support from her husbandIn such circumstances we are of the view that declining permission to the petitioner will tantamount to compelling her to continue with her pregnancy which in the circumstances will not only become extremely burdensome and oppressive on her but has the potential to cause grave injury to her mental health the high court saidThe bench permitted the petitioner woman to undergo termination of the pregnancy at the Cooper Hospital in MumbaiThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever