Woman seeks to abort 23-week foetus
The petitioner has filed various medical certificates and sonography reports in support of her claim.
Mumbai: A woman has approached the Bombay high court to terminate her 23-week foetus, which is suffering from various physical and mental complications. According to the petitioner, if the child is born, he would suffer from severe physical and mental impairment and there would be no chance of it surviving for long.
The petitioner has filed various medical certificates and sonography reports in support of her claim. The court then constituted a committee of expert doctors from Pune and directed them to form a committee within a week. The petitioner is 23 weeks pregnant, which is beyond the 20-week ceiling, the permissible limit for abortions to be carried out.
After perusing all the documents, the court was of the view that the woman needs to be referred for medical examination by constituting a medical board of B.J. Government Medical Hospital Pune, comprising of the Dean, head of the department (HOD) of gynaecology, neurology, a paediatric cardiac surgeon, radiology and psychology of the said hospital and other experts.
The court directed the board to examine her within four days from the date of receipt of the order and the report must contain her mental health and physical condition.