Madras High Court frames guidelines on handling of foetus after minor girls undergo abortion

The Madras High Court recently laid down certain guidelines on the handling, preservation and disposal of the 'products of conception' that remain after a minor's pregnancy is terminated. .A Bench of Justices N Anand Venkatesh and Sunder Mohan observed that such products of conception, which may include the aborted foetus, should never be sent to the minor victim or her family simply because they can no longer be stored at a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). "In so far as the guidelines for handling the products of conception, we want to ensure that it never reaches the hands of the victim girl or her family," the Court said. .The Court was told that generally, after the medical termination of a pregnancy (MTP) carried by a minor, the entire foetus is sent to the concerned FSL for analysis, if it is less than 24 weeks.If the foetus is more than 24 weeks old, then the femur bone (thigh bone) alone is sent to the FSL and the remaining products of conception are destroyed. Notably, the Court took note that in cases where the foetus is less than 24 weeks old, there was no procedure on what to do with the products of conception once the FSL analysis was over. This could be a reason why such products are sometimes handed over to the victim's family eventually, the Court deduced. "It cannot be preserved endlessly in the laboratory and there is no facility to preserve it either in the Hospitals or in the Police Stations or in the Courts. Therefore, there will be no meaning in keeping the products of conception endlessly. Probably that is the reason why it is being passed on from one authority to another and in some cases it even reaches the victim girl and her family," the Court explained. The Court has made it clear that such a course of action must be avoided in future. To summarise, the Court has laid down the following guidelines:In cases where the foetus is older than 24 weeks, the femur bone alone is to be sent for FSL analysis and the remaining products of conception are destroyed through bio-medical waste vendors approved by the Pollution Control Board. In all cases, including where a foetus is less than 24 weeks old, the sample sent for FSL analysis needs to be retained by the lab only until the completion of the court case. Thereafter, it shall be destroyed as per procedure. Under no circumstances should samples sent to the laboratory for analysis be handed over to the investigation officer or the Court. It shall be retained in the laboratory and it shall be destroyed after the completion of the case. A guideline in this regard must also be issued and followed across the state of Tamil Nadu..The Court issued the guidelines following a request by Vidya Reddy, of the Tulir Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse. Reddy had pointed out that in the absence of guidelines, the products of conception are sometimes handed over to the court after FSL analysis, and then to the police before they are eventually sent to the victim's family. .The case before the Court concerned broader issues of streamlining MTP cases involving minor victims and weeding out criminal cases lodged against minor boys for entering into consensual sexual relationships or eloping with minor girls. In the July 15 order, the Court has also issued strict warnings on the need to protect the identity of minor victims whose pregnancies are terminated..[Read Order]