Punjab-Haryana High Court has given a big decision saying that a married woman does not need the consent of her husband to get an abortion. The court made it clear that the woman’s will is most important.
The court accepted the petition of a woman who was living separately from her husband and wanted to get an abortion. During medical examination, the woman was found completely fit for abortion. This case was of a 21-year-old woman from Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab. She had sought permission from the High Court to terminate her pregnancy which was in the second trimester. The woman got married in May, but her relationship with her husband was going very bad. During this time the woman became pregnant and due to mental stress she decided to get an abortion.
High Court had given these orders
On December 22, the court directed PGIMER Chandigarh to constitute a medical board to medically examine the woman and decide whether abortion was possible or not. Subsequently, PGIMER constituted a Medical Board comprising experts from gynecology and obstetrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, radio diagnosis and hospital administration. The board said in its report on December 23 that the woman has been suffering from symptoms of depression and anxiety for the last six months and is undergoing treatment, although there has not been much improvement in her. The report said that the woman is under severe mental stress due to pregnancy amid the divorce process.
What’s in the medical board report?
The medical board also clarified that the woman is mentally capable of giving her consent and is medically fit for abortion. According to the report, the age of the fetus is 16 weeks and one day and no congenital deformity has been found in it. After considering all the facts and medical reports, the High Court held that the gestation period was less than 20 weeks, which was within the prescribed limit of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) under the law. Justice Sehgal said that a married woman is the best judge to decide whether she wants to continue or terminate the pregnancy. Accepting the petition, the court allowed the woman to undergo abortion at PGIMER, Chandigarh or any other authorized hospital within a week and directed the concerned hospital to take all necessary precautions during the procedure.