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Hon'ble justice Mr. Vibhu Bakhru of Delhi High Court passed an order dated 10th August 2020 in a 16-year-old rape survivors plea seeking medical termination of pregnancy. In her plea, the petitioner requested the court to issue directions to the Government of NCT of Delhi and Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital, Pitampura to medically terminate her pregnancy of 22 weeks. The petitioner in her statement to the authorities had revealed that one day she fainted while cleaning the area behind her slum and when she regained her consciousness she found that the accused was standing beside her.
After that incident, she started feeling nauseous and dizzy but did not suspect that she was pregnant. The petitioner later approached some nurses of Acharaya Bhikshu Hospital, when her periods stopped.
The nurses took her urine sample for some tests but the report of the tests did not reveal anything. The petitioner then approached the doctors of Mahavir Hospital, Pitampura and there the doctors revealed that she has been pregnant for 22 weeks. The petitioner after knowing this decision to terminate her pregnancy but the doctors of Mahavir hospital refused to do it because the pregnancy was in its advanced stage. Aggrieved by this, the petitioner approached the Delhi High Court and the court decided to interact with the petitioner via video conferencing. After this interaction, the court observed that the petitioner was distressed because of the pregnancy and her father was also in favor of terminating the pregnancy.
In this background, the court directed the Manohar Lohia Hospital to constitute a Medical Board to examine the petitioner and report whether termination of pregnancy involved risks to the petitioner. The Medical Board examined the petitioner and informed the court that the pregnancy was of 22 weeks and 6 days and the continuation of the pregnancy would result in psychological complications as the petitioner was under a lot of stress. The doctors further stated that the pregnancy could be medically terminated if there are no additional risks found after conducting further tests.
The court took note of the Medical Board's report and directed the petitioner to be admitted to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia hos[ital for further tests. The court allowed the plea of the petitioner and stated that the pregnancy can be terminated if the tests do not indicate any added risks. In this order, the court has prioritized the psychological condition of the minor rape survivor.
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