‘Her willingness, consent all that matters’: HC on Punjab woman’s plea for abortion

Chandigarh: It is the willingness and consent of a married woman that is all that matters, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has observed, while allowing a petitioner to undergo abortion without her husband’s consent.

The direction came on a plea moved by the 21-year-old petitioner from Punjab, seeking permission to terminate her pregnancy in its second trimester.

The petitioner had submitted that she got married on May 2, 2025 and had a turbulent relationship with her husband.

In the previous hearing, the court had issued directions to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) to constitute a medical board to examine the petitioner.

According to the medical report, the woman was medically fit to undergo MTP (medical termination of pregnancy).

According to the December 23 report, there is a single live intra-uterine foetus with a gestational age of 16 weeks and a day, with no congenital malformation.

“Patient has symptoms of depression and anxiety for the last six months, (and) has been undergoing treatment with minimal improvement. She is severely distressed about her pregnancy amidst divorce proceedings. It is recommended that she continues to undergo her psychiatric treatment and counselling. She is psychologically fit to consent,” the report of the medical board said.

A bench of justice Suvir Sehgal said it is evident from the report that according to experts, the petitioner is in a fit medical condition for the termination of her pregnancy.

The court ruled that a husband’s consent is not needed for abortion under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, allowing the petitioner to terminate her pregnancy within 20 weeks at PGIMER or another authorised hospital.