The Supreme Court came down strongly on a Mumbai-based couple on Tuesday and refused them permission to abort a 26-week-old foetus which was diagnosed with Down Syndrome.
A bench comprising Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao ruled, "It is sad that the child may suffer from physical and mental challenges and it's unfortunate for the mother but we can't allow an abortion...We have a life in our hands." The bench also said, "In these circumstances, it is not possible to grant permission to terminate the life of the foetus."
According to the medical reports submitted by a team of doctors in Mumbai, "there is no physical risk to the mother of continuation or termination of pregnancy." For the foetus the report stated, "If the baby is born with Down Syndrome, it is likely to have mental and physical challenges." Babies born with Down Syndrome suffer from mental retardation at various levels.
However, the condition is not life threatening, say doctors. According to Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act abortion is allowed up to 20 weeks.
After these 20 weeks permission from the SC has to be sought.
According to the MTP Act, abortion after 20 weeks is permitted only, "if the continuance of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury, physical or mental health."
Within the medical community, many doctors are in agreement with the SC's verdict. "Down Syndrome does not have life threatening anomalies and therefore an abortion should not be carried out. In the case of one of my patients, in spite of knowing the foetus had Down Syndrome, she decided to continue the pregnancy," said Dr Ashwini Bhalerao, gynaecologist at PD Hinduja Hospital in Mahim.
Doctors do however advise mothers above 35 years to get a pre-natal testing done for foetal anomalies. "It is a grey area. A mother may then choose to discontinue pregnancy up to 20 weeks citing another pretext. The laws are not clear," said Dr Bhalerao.
Families who have children suffering from Down Syndrome also agree with the SC verdict. Lucas D'Souza (29) is one of them. Lucas's brother Lyndon (21) has Down Syndrome and he says his brother is leading a normal life though he needs patience, understanding and love from family members. For instance Lucas says, Lyndon goes to school and identifies alphabets, numbers and colours. "Lyndon is a proper functioning adult. Although his initial phase of life was much slower and he requires physiotherapy, he has slowly learnt the ropes. The reason for abortion here is not acceptable as it is not a life threatening disorder," said D'Souza.
He adds, "Children with Down Syndrome have poor muscle tone and difficulty in speaking and physical movement. While it is not easy for parents to raise any kid with shortcomings, Down Syndrome is not the worse condition that a child may be affected with."
Meanwhile, the Centre has submitted that it is planning to extend the abortion cut-off to 24 weeks — as laid out in the new MTP amendment draft bill 2014. The bill however is yet to be passed.
