SC gives split verdict on married woman abortion

: A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday pronounced a split verdict on the Centre’s plea for recall of its October 9 order granting permission to a married woman, a mother of two, to terminate her 26-week pregnancy, with one judge voicing her disinclination to allow abortion and the other asserting that the woman’s decision “must be respected”.

While Justice Hima Kohli wondered which court will say “stop the heartbeat of a foetus” and made it clear she was not inclined to permit the 27-year-old woman to terminate her pregnancy, Justice B V Nagarathna said the court should respect the decision of the woman who has remained determined to abort it.

In view of the disagreement between them, the two judges of the bench, which had passed the October 9 order, decided to place the Centre’s application before Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud for being marked to an appropriate bench for adjudication.

Justice Kohli observed the top court had permitted the woman to terminate her pregnancy after considering the October 6 report submitted by a medical board of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

During the hearing, the bench took exception to an October 10 e-mail addressed by one of the members of the medical board about the strong possibility of survival of the foetus, and asked which court will say “stop the foetal heartbeat”.

However, the apex court had on Monday allowed the woman to proceed with aborting the foetus after taking note that she was suffering from depression and was not in a position to raise a third child “emotionally, financially and mentally”.

The woman had moved the apex court seeking its approval to terminate her pregnancy citing medical grounds, including that she was suffering from postpartum depression.