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Justice Reddy on Thursday directed the director of Gandhi Hospital to set up a medical committee to examine the girl. (Representative image from Associated Press)
The petitioner’s lawyer argued that the victim was sexually abused and raped by multiple people and that if she continued to be pregnant, it would cause her mental distress.
The Telangana High Court has allowed a 12-year-old rape survivor to abort her 26-week gestational age and directed the director of the state-run Gandhi Hospital to terminate the pregnancy.
The court also ordered that any termination of pregnancy or surgery must be performed by the hospital’s most senior gynecologist and that tissue and blood samples from the fetus be collected for DNA and other testing.
“If the victim girl or her mother consents to termination of pregnancy through medical procedure, then defendant No. 4, the Director of Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad, shall immediately admit the victim girl, conduct medical examination and take all necessary precautions to terminate the pregnancy of the victim girl through medical or surgical procedure within 48 hours,” Justice B Vijaysen Reddy said in his order on Friday.
Earlier, doctors at Gandhi Hospital informed the victim’s mother (petitioner) that since the girl’s pregnancy had exceeded 24 weeks, the pregnancy could not be terminated under the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, prompting her to approach the court.
Justice Reddy on Thursday directed the director of Gandhi Hospital to constitute a medical committee to examine the victim girl, ascertain the gestational period of her foetus, feasibility of termination of pregnancy and submit a sealed report to the court without revealing the identity of the girl.
The petitioner’s counsel Vasudha Nagaraj argued that the victim was sexually assaulted and raped by multiple persons and if she was allowed to continue with her pregnancy, it would cause her mental agony.
She also put forward her own point of view, saying that not only the victims but also the children born will face physical and mental trauma; in addition, if the pregnancy continues and the child is eventually born, the health of the mother and fetus cannot be guaranteed.
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