The matter reached the top court since the pregnancy was already in an advanced stage and there was no time to lose.
Mumbai-based parents moved the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday seeking permission to abort their 13-year-old's foetus. The teenager, who is more than seven months pregnant, was raped earlier this year.
The matter reached the top court since the pregnancy was already in an advanced stage and there was no time to lose.
The top court Bench was initially inclined to dismiss the application on the basis of the advanced stage of the pregnancy. However, advocate Sneha Mukherjee — who is representing the parents in this matter — reminded the court of the case involving a 10-year-old rape survivor from Chandigarh who was denied abortion last month.
Mukherjee also submitted that due to the tender age of the minor, it was more dangerous for the pregnancy to continue as opposed to terminating it. "The child that will be born will be underweight at the time of birth and the mother (the minor in this case) will suffer from dangerously high blood pressure," Mukherjee added.
In her petition, Mukherjee has also submitted that the delivery will not be normal owing to the fact that the minor's pelvic muscles may not be fully formed. "Research shows that the risk of maternal mortality could be five times higher for mothers aged 10 to 14 than for those aged 20 to 24, while babies born to mothers younger than 14 are 50 per cent more likely to die than babies born to mothers older than 20.Teenage mothers are more likely to suffer from obstructed delivery and other severe childbirth and pregnancy-related complications like obstetric fistula, perineal tear, prolapsed etc. This results in higher morbidity and mortality for them and their children."
Justices SA Bobde and L Nageshwara Rao allowed the petition and directed a medical board at the JJ Hospital in Mumbai to submit a medical report "about the condition and advisability of permitting a medical termination of pregnancy".
Earlier this month, the 13-year-old's parents took their daughter for a test after she suddenly started gaining weight. Thinking it was an obesity related matter, the parents were shocked when the minor was confirmed as 28-weeks pregnant.
Following the medical examination, Dr Nikhil Datar informed the local police station when he realised that the minor was a victim of rape and sexual abuse. A day later, the minor was taken to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) where she was remanded for a period of five days in contravention to established rules.
"In an increasing number of cases, incidents of child sexual abuse are reported late thereby making it impossible for a registered medical practitioner to provide abortion services in case the victim is found to be pregnant as a result of the rape due to a restriction created by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, which restricts medical termination of pregnancy beyond 20 weeks, unless it is absolutely necessary to save the life of the mother," the petition read.
"Having babies during adolescence has serious consequences for the health of the girl and her infant, especially in areas with weak health care systems, and thus another reason why terminating the pregnancy was in the best interest of the child," Mukherjee said in her petition.
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