Above: A representative picture of an operation for abortion. Photo: abortionuae.com

Kolkata’s Sarmishtha Chakraborty finally got the okay from the Supreme Court to terminate her 26-week pregnancy.

The bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and AM Khanwilkar on Monday (July 3) studied the report of a medical board which had examined the mother and the foetus and said okay to the abortion, to be done at Kolkata’s SSKM hospital.

The reason for her having to move the court was a legal ban on aborting foetuses over 20 weeks old, and the reason she wanted to terminate her pregnancy was because she found the foetus had serious abnormalities.

Her parents challenged the constitutional validity of Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 that prohibits termination of pregnancy beyond 20 weeks.

The bench observed: “Keeping in view the report of the medical board, we are inclined to allow the prayer and direct medical termination of pregnancy.”

—India Legal Bureau