Supreme Court: The 3-judge bench of Dipak Misra, CJ and AM Khanwilkar and Dr. DY Chandrachud, JJ issued notice to the Central Government on the petition seeking framing of appropriate medico legal guidelines for urgent and safe termination of pregnancy under safe medical facilities including termination of pregnancies beyond 20 weeks in the exceptional cases.
The petition also sought for constitution of a committee for framing of appropriate medico legal guidelines for setting up a permanent mechanism for expedient termination of pregnancies beyond 20 weeks in the exceptional cases particularly involving rape survivors and women and abnormal foetus’s under safe medical facilities and with adequate inputs from an association of professionals & experts.
The Court, however, refused to entertain the payer where the petitioner had sought directions for urgent amendment of Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, so as to permit termination of pregnancies of more than 20 weeks for expedient termination of pregnancies beyond 20 weeks in the cases particularly involving rape survivors and women with abnormal foetus’s under safe medical facilities. The Court said that the said prayer was in the legislative realm and hence, it will not interfere. [Anusha Ravindra v. Union of India, Writ Petition (Civil) No.934/2017, order dated 13.10.2017]
