The Calcutta High Court on Thursday allowed a woman to terminate her pregnancy after 35 weeks, in a rare such permission, owing to defects in the spinal cord and other malformation of the foetus detected by a medical board.
The court observed that in the report of a nine-member medical board of state-run SSKM Hospital, it is clear and explicit that there are remote chances of the child being born out of the instant pregnancy surviving or leading a normal life.
Noting that risks to the mother as well as the child are also highlighted in no uncertain terms in the report, Justice Rajasekhar Mantha ordered, “Considering the entire gamut of facts and circumstances, this court permits the petitioner to medically terminate her pregnancy at an authorised hospital and/or medical facility”.
The high court also said the team of nine senior doctors opined that even if the child is born by medical intervention, it is likely to develop severe impairments and long-term ailments and would have limited mortality.
The 36-year-old woman had prayed in the petition that she and her husband are desirous of getting her pregnancy terminated medically due to the condition.
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