The Bombay HC Allowed A Domestic Abuse Victim To End Her 23-Week Pregnancy.

The Bombay HC Allowed A Domestic Abuse Victim To End Her 23-Week Pregnancy.

If you regularly watch the news then you know that our judiciary is actively trying to make life easier for women. A lot of the judges are passing landmark rulings and setting the kind of precedents that will help women escape patriarchal oppression. The most recent ruling came from Bombay HC. Judges permitted a domestic abuse victim to abort her 23-week pregnancy. The best part about this They took her mental health into consideration. We need more rulings like this one!

On Tuesday, the Bombay HC permitted a 22-year-old woman to terminate her 23-week pregnancy. In her plea, she claimed that she was being subjected to domestic abuse and carrying this pregnancy to full-term will cause her tremendous mental strain. This ruling came after a medical board said that the woman was capable of carrying on with her pregnancy. It said that the woman’s case did not fulfil the MTP criteria and they didn’t find a reason that it would cause any grave mental health problems to the mother.

However, the bench comprising of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Madhav Jamdar said, “Declining permission would (be) tantamount to compelling her to continue with her pregnancy, which, in the circumstances, will not only become extremely burdensome and oppressive on her but has the potential to cause grave injury to her mental health.”

Also Read: Mumbai Court Said Sexual Offenders Create Fear In Girls While Convicting A Bus Conductor Who Assaulted A 13-Year-Old

The woman’s counsel Aditi Saxena said that the woman had been subjected to domestic violence since she got married in January 2021. She had approached the High Court court on the grounds that, “continuing it would cause grave injury to her mental health”. On 23 July, the court directed a medical board at JJ Hospital to examine her. The medical board said the woman’s condition, “was primarily due to marital disputes, financial constraints and social reasons which may not be continuous in future.”

Aditi Saxena argued that the domestic abuse went on even after the woman learned of the pregnancy. She was unable to bear the constant physical and mental torture. However, the last straw was when the woman’s husband hit her on her stomach on 14 July. This resulted in the woman needing immediate medical attention. The bench also heard statements from state advocate Uma Palsuledesai and Centre’s advocate Purnima Awasthi before granting permission. The woman will undergo an MTP at the RN Cooper Hospital.

This is an incredible ruling and it’s going to set an excellent precedent. No woman should be forced to have a child. Especially not in these torturous conditions.

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Mitali Shah

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