The Supreme Court today refused permission to a woman to abort her 27-week-old foetus showing signs of severe physical abnormalities.
Referring to the report of the medical board, which has examined the woman, a bench of Justices S A Bobdey and L Nageshwara Rao said that as per the opinion of the doctors the baby may be born alive if the mother is allowed to abort at this stage.
The apex court also observed that as per the doctors’ opinion the physical condition of the woman is normal and there is no risk to her health.
The court said that they don’t consider it appropriate to direct the petitioner (woman) to terminate the foetus.
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act prohibits termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks even if there is a fatal risk to the mother and the foetus.
