Bombay HC permits 11-year-old sexual assault survivor to terminate 30-week pregnancy

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The Bombay High Court (HC) on Thursday, October 31, permitted an 11-year-old sexual assault survivor to terminate her 30-week pregnancy.

A vacation bench of Justices Sharmila Deshmukh and Jitendra Jain said the minor shall undergo the procedure for termination on Thursday itself at the state-run Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy (JJ) Hospital in Mumbai.

The girl had moved Bombay HC through her father seeking permission to end the pregnancy.

Under the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, the court's permission is required to terminate a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks.

As per the plea, the girl is a survivor of sexual assault and a case has also been registered against an unknown person under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Under the Constitution, the court said, it can permit medical termination of a pregnancy that exceeds the 20-week gestation period in contingencies as set out in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.

"The petitioner is a minor girl who is a victim of sexual assault. Hence, the petitioner is permitted to undergo medical termination of pregnancy," Bombay HC said.

The court directed for the blood and tissue samples of the fetus to be preserved for carrying out DNA or other tests that would be required during the trial of the criminal case.

The court added that if the baby is born alive then all medical facilities should be made available to save its life.

"If the child is born alive and the petitioner or her parents are not willing to or are not in a position to take responsibility of the child, the state government will assume full responsibility of the child," it said.

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