The Supreme Court, on Monday, allowed a 22-year-old woman from Dombivali, Mumbai, to medically terminate her 23-week-old pregnancy after she appealed to the court saying she was carrying a foetus with a serious birth defect known as anencephaly. Babies with this defect are born without parts of the brain and skull.
The court had asked doctors from King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital in Mumbai to set up a committee to examine the case and submit a report within 24 hours. The committee, that consisted of seven doctors, conducted sonography scans and a psychological evaluation of the woman. Following that, the report came in her favour, with the doctors stating that she had genuine grounds to undergo an abortion.
Anencephaly is a serious birth defect which occurs when the upper part of the neural tube is unable to close all the way. Due to this defect, the baby is born without the front part of the brain, which is also known as forebrain and the cerebrum. This portion of the brain is mainly responsible for thinking and coordination. The cause of this birth defect is still unknown and as of now, there is no standard treatment or cure for anencephaly. In fact, most infants with anencephaly die shortly after delivery.
The young Mumbai-based couple had been married for nearly one year and they were expecting their first child. The foetus was diagnosed with anencephaly after the mother had already crossed the 20 weeks deadline, as set by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, for an abortion.
The couple was advised to approach the Supreme Court by their gynaecologists Dr Sangeeta Pikale and Dr Nikhil Datar, who is the co-petitioner. “This is a landmark decision as it speaks volumes about how we, as a country, look at women’s rights — and to some extent the absurdity that is there in the law of the land. The law has not moved on with medical advances and I hope that some kind of amendment is passed as early as possible,” says Dr Datar.
Last year, the SC allowed a rape survivor to terminate her 24-week-old pregnancy after she appealed before the court. “How many times will Indian women approach the court for permission to terminate their pregnancy in such cases? This is the big question that needs to be answered,” adds Dr Datar.
