Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court, while allowing a 17-year-old woman to choose whether she wants to keep the child or not, said that she has a right in relation to her body which includes saying “Yes” or “No” to being a mother” and the law provides the right to a sexual assault victim to medically terminate her pregnancy.
A bench comprising Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar was hearing a plea filed by the 17-year-old victim of sexual assault seeking to medically terminate her pregnancy.
MTP Act provides the right to a sexual assault victim to terminate her pregnancy: High Court
The bench said that section 3(2) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act provides the right to a sexual assault victim to terminate her pregnancy medically and denying a women right to say no to medical termination of pregnancy and fasten her with responsibility of motherhood would amount to denying her human right to live with dignity.
To force victim to give birth to child of a man who sexually assaulted would result in unexplainable miseries: High Court
“In the case of sexual assault, denying a women right to say no to medical termination of pregnancy and fasten her with responsibility of motherhood would amount to denying her human right to live with dignity as she has a right in relation to her body which includes saying ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to being a mother,” the bench said and added, “Section 3(2) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act reiterates that right of a woman. To force the victim to give birth to the child of a man who sexually assaulted would result in unexplainable miseries.”
The High Court further noted that Rule 3 B of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy, Rules 2003 (as amended by Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Rules, 2021) provides for termination of pregnancy of up to 24 weeks for victims of sexual assault or rape or incest or if she is a minor.
What did the petitioner woman submit?
The petitioner woman told the High Court that she was lured by the accused to elope with him and she was later found upon a complaint made by her father. She further said that she was found to be three months and fifteen days pregnant when she was medically examined for acute stomach ache,
The counsel representing the petitioner alleged that she was repeatedly raped and said that a request has been made before the session court for investigation into the matter. The counsel further submitted, while saying that she did not want the responsibility of a child herself being a minor, that she is now nineteen weeks pregnant and the pregnancy was causing her anguish and was detrimental to her mental health.
The High Court, while citing the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court judgments allowing medical termination of pregnancy in such cases, said that the sexual assault victim has the right to say yes or no to keeping the child which was conceived due to sexual assault and allowed the woman to choose whether she wants to keep the child or not.
