The Supreme Court on Thursday said that an
unmarried woman can abort a 24-week pregnancy arising out of a consensual
relationship. The top court said that the Delhi High court had taken an unduly
restrictive view.
The Supreme Court on Thursday passed an ad-interim
order to allow an unmarried woman to abort her pregnancy of 24-weeks arising
out of a consensual relationship, subject to a medical board constituted by the
All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi concluding that the
foetus can be aborted without risk to the life of the woman.
A bench headed by Justices D Y Chandrachud observed
that the Delhi High Court took an unduly restrictive view of the provisions of
the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules while declining the woman's interim
relief.
"Petitioner should not be denied the benefit
merely on the ground that she is an unmarried woman", the Court observed
in its order.
The bench was considering the petition filed by a
25-year-old unmarried woman, seeking termination of her pregnancy of 24 weeks
which had arisen out of a consensual relationship against Delhi High Court's
order of refusing to grant her the said relief.
The bench further noted that after the 2021 amendment,
the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act uses the word partner instead of
husband in the explanation to Section 3, the court said that this shows the
legislative intent to cover unmarried woman under the Act.
The bench observed that the parliamentary intent is
not to confine the benefits to situations arising out of matrimonial
relationships. It noted that a widow or a divorcee woman is allowed to
terminate the pregnancy at the term of 20-24 weeks.
The bench held that allowing the petitioner to suffer
an unwanted pregnancy will be contrary to the object and spirit of the
legislation.
"We are of the view that allowing the petitioner
to suffer an unwanted pregnancy will go against the parliamentary intent .The
benefits under the Act cannot be denied to her only on the basis of her being
unmarried. The distinction between a married and an unmarried woman has no
nexus to the object sought to be achieved by the Parliament", the bench
stated.
The High Court had observed that an unmarried woman,
whose pregnancy arises out of a consensual relationship, is not covered under
the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules, 2003.
The top court did not agree with the Delhi High
court's view and termed it as an unduly restrictive view in as much as Rule
3(b) speaks of change in marital status of woman, followed by expressions
widowhood or divorce and held that expression change in marital status must be
given a purposive interpretation.
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