Malformation detected in 24th week *Court refusal on grounds that baby may be born alive
The Supreme Court on Monday denied permission to a Mumbai woman in the 27th week of her pregnancy to seek abortion. The woman is carrying a foetus that is detected with Type-2 Arnold-Chiari malformation, which involves structural damage to the brain.
The 25-year-old is expecting her first child and comes from a low-economic background. Her elder brother suffers from a disability too, and she has experienced first hand the struggles of caring for a person with special needs.
The woman was examined by a medical team at the KEM Hospital in Mumbai. As per the report, the child will suffer from severe physical and intellectual disabilities. The foetus also had fluid buildup in the brain (hydrocephalus).
After referring to the report by the medical board, a bench of Justices SA Bobdey and L Nageshwara Rao said that the doctors are of the opinion that the baby may be “born alive” if the mother is allowed to abort at this stage.
“The medical report also stated that the baby will be born with severe physical and mental disability but the bench said they don’t want to go into the merits of the case since the report concluded that there was a possibility of the baby being born alive,” said the lawyer who argued the case, and requested not to be named.
The petitioner had underwent a sonography at the civic body-run Shatabdi Hospital in the city at 16 weeks, but the condition was missed. During the next scan at 24 weeks, doctors detected the condition. However, she had already passed the deadline for termination of pregnancy prescribed under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
Dr Nikhil Datar, Medical Director at Cloud 9 Hospital, who has been at the forefront to amend abortion rights for women, said, “The condition (of the foetus) is not treatable. The family approached me after the diagnosis was already confirmed. I only helped the woman get in touch with the lawyers in Delhi.”
The courts were on leave for a few days for Holi and by that time the woman was in an advanced stage. According to the law in India, abortion is allowed only up to 20 weeks. If the pregnancy has progressed beyond that then the woman has to approach the Supreme Court, and the decision on allowing MTP is taken on a case by case basis.
Out of the 26 million births that occur in India every year, approximately 2-3 per cent of the foetuses have a severe congenital or chromosomal abnormality. Many suffer Intrauterine Fetal Death (IUFD) or are stillborn.
What is Arnold-Chiari Type-2 malformation?
Spina bifida, a birth defect where there is an incomplete closing of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord. Type II is also known as classic Chiari malformation or Arnold-Chiari malformation.
Chiari malformations are believed to occur in one in every 1,000 births. Increased use of diagnostic imaging techniques such as CT scans and MRIs suggest that the condition may be much more common.
Some children who are born with the condition in its mild form either never develop symptoms or don’t until they reach adolescence or adulthood.
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