Kerala High Court allows 30-week pregnancy termination for rape survivor

The Kerala High Court has allowed the medical termination of a 30-week pregnancy of a 15-year-old rape survivor after her mother moved the court. The court also directed the state government to make arrangements for the procedure.

Justice Harisankar V Menon passed the order after a medical board, constituted by the court to examine the girl, said medical termination was the most suitable option. The board said continuing the pregnancy would significantly affect the mental health of the 15-year-old sexual assault survivor.

The plea was filed by the girl's mother seeking termination of the pregnancy. In its report, the medical board said that as the gestation had crossed 30 weeks, the baby would be born alive and had more than a 95 per cent chance of survival if there were no major anomalies or perinatal complications.

The board also said the baby would require a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit for about two months. Based on the report, the court directed the state to ensure that the procedure was carried out after obtaining an undertaking from the victim and her mother that the girl was willing to undergo it.

The court said, "If the child survives, the state shall provide appropriate measures and standard neonatal care. If the child still develops complications, as voiced by the report of the medical board, the necessary medical aid shall be provided by the state to the child, as and when it arises."

The court also directed that if the baby did not survive, the state should preserve tissue and blood samples of the foetus for necessary medical tests, including DNA, fingerprinting and mapping, as an FIR had been registered in connection with the sexual assault of the girl. With this, the court allowed the termination plea and laid down the steps the state must follow during and after the procedure.