SC Permits Minor’s 30-Week Termination 'Woman Can’t be Forced to Continue'

Directing medical termination of a 30-week pregnancy of a 17-year-old girl, the Supreme Court on Friday said that courts cannot compel a woman, much less a minor, to continue a pregnancy. 

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that the girl had become pregnant while being in a relationship with a neighbourhood boy and sought to medically terminate her pregnancy. 

The bench



asked Mumbai's JJ Hospital to undertake the medical termination of the pregnancy of the minor while ensuring that all necessary medical safeguards are followed.

The bench observed that the court had considered the fact that the right of the minor child to continue the pregnancy, which, on the face of it, was "illegitimate" as she herself was a minor and was facing the pregnancy due to an unfortunate situation arising from a relationship.