<p>The Gujarat High Court on Thursday rejected the plea of a 24-year-old gang-rape victim to allow her to abort her unborn child, stating that the foetus is a living being with a fundamental right to live.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The victim, who was 27-weeks into pregnancy, had approached the Gujarat High Court to allow her to abort the unborn child as it would not be acceptable to her husband.<br /><br />The court observed that the victim must abide by the present law and that an abortion at this stage will endanger the woman’s life. According to the current rules, it is illegal to abort a foetus if it is older than 20 weeks.<br /><br />The woman had been abducted from her home in Surat and was gang-raped by seven people for close to six months at gunpoint. She somehow managed to escape from her captors on March 14, 2015. She soon realised that she was pregnant due to rape and approached a lower court in Botad district in Saurashtra region of Gujarat. She was 24-week pregnant then.<br /><br />The court turned down her plea on March 26, citing Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. The court noted that the Act permitted termination of pregnancy provided it had not exceeded 20 weeks.<br /><br />The woman then approached the Gujarat High Court to set aside the lower court’s order and permit her to abort the child. In her plea, she claimed that her husband might throw her out of the house if she gave birth to somebody else’s child.<br /><br />The High Court has now directed that the victim will have to deliver the child under the supervision of Collector of Botad and instructed him to ensure that the child is born with proper medical care and not abandoned. If needed, the collector can take help from an NGO or government.<br /><br />The court directed police to carry out proper investigation into the case and arrest the remaining four of the seven accused. The court also directed government authorities not to harass the victim.</p>
<p>The Gujarat High Court on Thursday rejected the plea of a 24-year-old gang-rape victim to allow her to abort her unborn child, stating that the foetus is a living being with a fundamental right to live.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The victim, who was 27-weeks into pregnancy, had approached the Gujarat High Court to allow her to abort the unborn child as it would not be acceptable to her husband.<br /><br />The court observed that the victim must abide by the present law and that an abortion at this stage will endanger the woman’s life. According to the current rules, it is illegal to abort a foetus if it is older than 20 weeks.<br /><br />The woman had been abducted from her home in Surat and was gang-raped by seven people for close to six months at gunpoint. She somehow managed to escape from her captors on March 14, 2015. She soon realised that she was pregnant due to rape and approached a lower court in Botad district in Saurashtra region of Gujarat. She was 24-week pregnant then.<br /><br />The court turned down her plea on March 26, citing Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. The court noted that the Act permitted termination of pregnancy provided it had not exceeded 20 weeks.<br /><br />The woman then approached the Gujarat High Court to set aside the lower court’s order and permit her to abort the child. In her plea, she claimed that her husband might throw her out of the house if she gave birth to somebody else’s child.<br /><br />The High Court has now directed that the victim will have to deliver the child under the supervision of Collector of Botad and instructed him to ensure that the child is born with proper medical care and not abandoned. If needed, the collector can take help from an NGO or government.<br /><br />The court directed police to carry out proper investigation into the case and arrest the remaining four of the seven accused. The court also directed government authorities not to harass the victim.</p>
