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Court fiat to doctors

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has directed that a panel of doctors examine a 25-week pregnant woman with a congenital heart block in her foetus and admit her for abortion.

Simultaneously, the court will hear on Friday a petition filed by the woman and her husband seeking an amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act to allow abortion beyond 20 weeks if the mother faced a fatal risk due to the condition of the foetus.

A Division Bench of justices J.N. Patel and K.K. Tated directed a committee of doctors on Tuesday to examine the pregnant woman.

The court would seek medical reports on Friday from the committee constituted by the Dean of the State-run JJ Hospital.

She should be admitted to a speciality hospital for termination of her pregnancy if her case was found fit for abortion.

The larger issue of bringing about an amendment to the Act would also be argued then.

The woman, who was expecting her first child, found out only in the 24th week of her pregnancy that the foetus had a congenital heart block. Doctors told her that the child would need a pacemaker right from the time of its birth and the quality of its life would be poor. Since an abortion at this advanced stage is illegal, medical practitioners refused to abort the foetus.

The court was of the view that the exclusion of the foetus’ condition, while taking a call on abortion beyond 20 weeks, denied the unborn child its constitutional right to life.

The patient, who belongs to a socially backward class, has been admitted to a municipal hospital. — PTI

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