SC to examine law on abortion

The 38-year-old abortion law was on Friday challenged in the Supreme Court which sought a response from the government for continuing with a provision prohibiting termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks even if there was a fatal risk to t he mother and the foetus.
    
The apex court, which at first was of the view that the issue could be raised at the government level, issued a notice to the Centre after it was contended by a Mumbai doctor that the 20-week cut of limit for abortion had become obsolete as in developed countries it had been extended to 26 weeks.

A Bench of chief justice KG Balakrishnan and justice P Sathasivam was hearing a petition challenging the Bombay High Court verdict disallowing abortion of a 26-week foetus with a heart defect after observing that the plea by the young mother to terminate her pregnancy was equivalent to "mercy killing."
    
The High Court on August 4 last year had not allowed the plea of a couple -- Nikita and Haresh Mehta -- to abort their first child as their doctor had found out in the 24th week that the foetus had a heart block. Later, Nikita suffered a miscarriage.

Mumbai-based doctor Nikhil D Datar, who was one of the petitioners along with the couple, moved the apex court raising the same issue and sought an amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.