High Court says no to abortion of 26-week foetus

Mumbai, Aug 6 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Monday refused permission to abort a 26-week foetus with a serious heart defect after rejecting the mother's plea to terminate the pregnancy in a case torn between trauma and ethical issues.

Dismissing an application by Niketa Mehta, the court observed that medical experts
did not express any "categorical opinion that if the child is born it would suffer
from serious handicaps." Considering the defects as they are today, experts are not
sure whether cardiac surgery will be required at or after birth, court said.

The court noted that even if the couple had approached before 20 weeks it would not
have been possible to allow abortion, as the medical opinion was contrary.

Mehta also sought an amendment to India's Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act
so that pregnancy can be terminated even after 20 weeks if doctors believe that the
child, if born, will have serious abnormalities, so as to render it handicapped. As
per the 37-year-old MTP Act, a pregnancy can be terminated after 20 weeks only if
there was a fatal risk to the mother and not the foetus.

But a division bench Bombay High court of Justice R M S Khandeparkar and Amjad Sayed
observed that they could not alter the provision.

"It is the job of the legislature to help you alter the provision. We cannot
legislate the provision," Justice Khandeparkar observed.

Additional Solicitor General Rajinder Raghuvansh said the court felt that existing
laws did not permit Niketa to abort the child. Niketa's lawyer Amit Kharkanis said
the Mehta family was "disappointed" but no decision has been taken to approach the
apex Supreme Court. PTI