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SC Allowed Termination of Pregnancy With Serious Abnormalities (Komal Hiwale V. State of Maharashtra)
In a recent judgment of Komal Hiwale v. State of Maharastra the Supreme Court permitted Foetul Reduction to Petitioner who was bearing 25 weeks old twin pregnancy on the grounds of serious foetul abnormalities.
The Petitioner, who was pregnant by about 24-25 weeks, had sought permission for Foetus reduction of one Foetal which was affected with Down syndrome.
On 22.05.2020, the High Court had declined to grant permission for Foetul reduction. The HC was of the view that:
1). It may not be safe for Mother;
2). Foetul reduction of one Foetul May affect the other normal Foetus.
The Supreme Court had directed the reconstruction of Medical Board and submit an additional report on:
- To give further opinion whether the abortion of one Foetus will affect on the life of the Mother i.e Petitioner
- Whether the abortion of one Foetul will have an adverse affect on the surviving other Foetus.
The Medical Board included Dr. Purnima Satoskar, MD, a Full Time Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Seth G.S. Medical College and Head of Unit & Foetal Medicine Department at Nowrosjee Wadia Maternity Hospital, Mumbai, who has examined the petitioner-Komal Hiwale and has given the following opinion: “After going through all the reports, I conclude that she has dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy. Today she is around 25 weeks pregnant. One foetus is affected with trisomy 21. The other foetus is chromosomally and structurally normal”.
Dr. Purnima Satoskar has referred to the Guidance Note for Medical Boards for Terminal of Pregnancy beyond 20 weeks Gestation as recommended by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, which permits selective foetal reduction and gave her opinion as under: “Note on trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome) This is a chromosomal abnormality and has no treatment. The baby will suffer from significant mental retardation, intellectual disability and may also have other health conditions like heart disease etc".
Dr. Purnima Satoskar, in her conclusion, has opined that there is no direct risk of the procedudre to the normal twin and opined as under : “In dichorionic twins, there is no direct risk of the procedure to normal twin as the circulations of the twins are separate. The procedure carries negligible risks similar to amniocentesis to mother and is proven extremely safe and large seriies with no maternal deaths".
Upon considering the Doctor's opinions, The Supreme Court set aside the order of High Court and permitted the Petitioner to undergo foetal reduction as per the procedure stated by the doctor.
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