Can’t compel tender-age girl to have an unwanted child: Bombay HC – Hindustan Times

Compelling a tender age girl to have an unwanted child may lead to disastrous consequences for the rest of her life not only for her, but for her entire family, said the Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday while allowing an 18-year-old unwed girl to get her unwanted pregnancy medically terminated.

The division bench of justice Ujjal Bhuyan and justice Madhav Jamdar took into consideration the fact that the petitioner has just completed 18 years of age, who has last year appeared for HSC exam, and is unmarried and disregarded opinion of the Medical Board of the Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, Mumbai.

Pursuant earlier HC orders the specialized board had examined the girl and opined that there was no mental, obstetric or medical reasons warranting termination of the pregnancy.

The board had said there was no abnormality detected in the foetus and the mother also did not have any medical or pregnancy related issues. It added that though the mother had moderate depressive episode, with treatment the continuation of the pregnancy was unlikely to adversely affect her mental health.

HC disapproved the opinion and referring to one of its earlier decision, noted that the legislature has consciously used the term “mental health” – an expression of wider connotations in section 3(2) (b)(i) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, in contradistinction to the expressions “mental illness” or “mentally ill person.”

The bench said, therefore, for determining whether continuance of pregnancy would involve risk of injury to mental health of the pregnant woman, her actual or reasonably foreseeable environment should be taken into account.

The bench took into consideration the fact that the petitioner before it has one elder sister, one elder brother and one younger sister and her father is auto-rickshaw driver and mother sells vegetables near their house. “From the above, the socio-economic condition/ status of the petitioner is clearly discernible,” said the bench while allowing the girl to get her unwanted pregnancy medically terminated at the state-run hospital.