Victim of sexual assault has right to terminate pregnancy: Allahabad High Court

Prayagraj: The law provides the right to a victim of sexual assault to terminate her pregnancy medically, the Allahabad High Court has observed while allowing a 17-year-old woman to choose whether she wants the child or not.

A two-judge bench comprising Justices Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Prashant Kumar was hearing a petition of a 17-year-old rape victim seeking medical termination of pregnancy.

It said section 3(2) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act provides the right to a victim of sexual assault to terminate her pregnancy medically.

The court further observed, "In the case of sexual assault, denying a women right to say no to medical termination of pregnancy and fasten her with responsibility of motherhood would amount to denying her human right to live with dignity as she has a right in relation to her body which includes saying 'Yes' or 'No' to being a mother."

"Section 3(2) of the MTP Act reiterates that right of a woman. To force the victim to give birth to the child of a man who sexually assaulted would result in unexplainable miseries." The petitioner said she was lured by the accused to elope with him. Later, upon a complaint by her father, she was found.

Subsequently, when the petitioner was medically examined for acute stomach ache, she was found to be three months and fifteen days pregnant.

The counsel for the petitioner alleged that she was raped multiple times, and investigation on this has been requested before the session court.

Since the petitioner is now nineteen weeks pregnant, her counsel submitted that the pregnancy was causing her anguish and was detrimental to her mental health.

It was also pleaded that the petitioner, being a minor, did not want the responsibility of a child.

The court observed that Rule 3 B of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy, Rules 2003 (as amended by Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Rules, 2021) provides for termination of pregnancy of up to 24 weeks for survivors of sexual assault or rape or incest or if she is a minor.

Giving an example of the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court allowing medical termination of pregnancy in similar circumstances, the court observed that the victim has the right to say yes or no to keeping the child conceived due to sexual assault.