The Bombay High Court on Thursday allowed a 17-year-old sexual abuse survivor to continue her pregnancy, noting that the court was aware of her reproductive freedom and right to choice.
A division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Neela Gokhale said that while the teenager initially tried to terminate the pregnancy, she later chose to give birth to the child as she planned to marry the man who allegedly abused her.
“We are aware of the petitioner's (teenager's) right to reproductive freedom, her autonomy over her body and her right to choose,” the HC said.
The court said it allowed the teenager to medically terminate her 26-week pregnancy if she wished. “However, since she had also expressed her wish and desire to continue the pregnancy, she was fully entitled to do so,” the bench said.
The girl and her mother only learned of the pregnancy when she was taken for a checkup with a fever. Subsequently, a case was registered against a 22-year-old man for sexually abusing her. Subsequently, the survivor made a request to the HC for termination of pregnancy.
However, the girl later claimed that she was in a “consensual” relationship with the man and that they planned to get married and raise their children.
The medical board of the state-run JJ Hospital examined the minor and submitted a report to the HC stating that there was no abnormality in the fetus but since she was a minor, her mental state was not suitable for delivery.
The high court noted that both the teen and her mother expressed their willingness to continue the pregnancy to term.
