Husband of 24-week pregnant woman talks about taking fight for abortion to Supreme Court
Santosh Pal, 38, says that the past three weeks have been full of struggle and he is relieved with the decision of the Supreme Court to allow his wife to terminate her pregnancy at 24 weeks.
Santosh Pal, 38, husband of the 24-week pregnant woman, who was on Monday permitted by the Supreme Court to terminate her pregnancy, is a relieved man. The past 22 days have been harrowing for the Dombivli couple who found out that their baby was suffering from anencephaly, a condition where the foetus has no skull and a large portion of the brain is absent, which would make its survival after birth ‘unviable’.
“My wife was beyond 20 weeks when we found out about the condition of the baby. I called my brother-in-law who is a doctor who then introduced me to Dr. Sangeeta Pikale. Dr. Nikhil Datar helped us take the fight to the Supreme Court,” said the freelance computer typist who works in Mumbai’s Fort area.
While the hospital in Dombivli first refused them an abortion since his wife Mira, a housewife, had already crossed the legal 20-week deadline for medical termination of pregnancy (MTP), he found support in Dr. Pikale and Dr. Datar who took the fight to the top court. Lawyers from the Human Rights Law Network fought their case pro bono.
The Supreme Court has said that the termination of pregnancy will be carried out at the King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM) in Parel, a decision Pal is not happy with. “I should have the right to make the decision. The private sector has supported us or else this would not have been possible. For the past 22 days, despite the tremendous support I had, I had to run from pillar-to-post,” he said.
He hopes that there is some change in the law so that other couples like him don’t have to go through the same ordeal. “We have suffered so much. This law must change. I have fought not just for me but for others who could be in a similar position,” Pal added.