Gujarat High Court lays down guidelines for medical board opinions on abortions

The Gujarat High Court recently issued guidelines to be followed by registered medical practitioners or a medical board while forming an opinion on the medical termination of pregnancies.

A Bench of Justice Sanjeev J Thaker issued the guidelines while granting permission for the termination of a 24-week pregnancy of a 16-year-old rape victim.

The Court has said that the medical board's opinion on such matters need not be restricted to the parameters set out in Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (MTP Act) and that the doctors should evaluate the mental and physical well-being of the pregnant woman.

The guidelines issued by the Court in its November 8 order are as follows:

(i) The registered medical practitioner or medical board must not restrict its opinion to the criteria under Section 3(2-b) of the MTP Act but must also evaluate the physical and emotional well being of the pregnant person;

(ii) the registered medical practitioner/medical board, in their report, must give their opinion on whether carrying of the pregnancy to the full term would impact upon the physical and mental well-being of the victim/ minor/ pregnant woman whose termination of pregnancy is sought for;

(iii) The registered medical practitioner/medical board should opine on whether the termination of pregnancy can be carried out at without any threat to the person whose pregnancy is sought to be terminated.

The Court added that these are not exhaustive guidelines and that the doctors on the board are free to state any additional fact or opinion which is found necessary in the facts of each case.

The Court was dealing with a case in which a 16-year-old girl had eloped with a man and had physical relations with him after he allegedly gave a false promise to marry her. The man was later booked for rape and kidnapping.

Meanwhile, the victim's father came to know that the girl had become pregnant. He, therefore, moved the Court for permission to abort the pregnancy since it had exceeded the twenty-week time frame within which medical termination of pregnancies may be carried out without a medical board's opinion under the MTP Act.

The Court was informed that the victim wished to terminate the pregnancy, even though the a medical board had warned about possible medical complications that may follow if the pregnancy is terminated at such an advanced stage.

The Court proceeded to allow the plea for terminating the pregnancy after noting that the physical and mental well-being of the minor victim would be adversely affected if she is forced to continue the pregnancy.

The Court reiterated that even under the MTP Act, a pregnancy caused by rape is presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman.

"The Court has to consider the decision wherein ‘the best interest’ of the victim and consider her trauma, mental agony and possibility of social ostracism of continuing with the pregnancy," the Court said, in its November 8 order.

The Court also noted that an expert panel report dated November 7 had recommended that medical termination of the pregnancy can proceed despite the associated risks.

The Court further observed that the risks associated with the abortion was not higher than the risks involved in delivery after the full term of pregnancy, before allowing the plea to terminate the pregnancy.

Advocate Yogesh K Manghani and Prerak P Oza appeared for the victim's father. Additional Public Prosecutor Jay Mehta represented the State of Gujarat.

[Read Order]