Delhi HC allows woman's plea to terminate 28-week pregnancy

New Delhi, Jan 11 The Delhi High Court on Monday allowed a woman's plea seeking the termination of her 28-week pregnancy on the ground that the foetus suffered from a serious birth defect in which a baby is born with an underdeveloped brain and incomplete skull.

The order holds importance as the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of 1971 prohibits abortion of a fetus after 20 weeks of gestation.

On January 7, a bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh had asked the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to submit a report on the feasibility of terminating her pregnancy.

The woman told the court that an ultra-sonography at the gestational age of 27 weeks five days found that the fetus suffered from anencephaly which makes it incompatible with life.

The petitioner asserted that it was "perfectly safe" for a woman to abort a fetus at any point during her pregnancy with advances in technology.

The woman claimed, "The ceiling of 20 weeks is therefore arbitrary, harsh, discriminatory and violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India."

( With inputs from IANS )