Context: The Delhi High Court allowed a woman’s plea to terminate her 28-week pregnancy after a medical board constituted by AIIMS said her foetus can be aborted as it suffered from anencephaly, a condition where the skull bone is not formed, and was therefore, incompatible with life.

• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 prohibits abortion of a fetus after 20 weeks of

Petitioner Claims:

• With advances in technology, it was perfectly safe for a woman to abort a fetus at any point during her pregnancy.
• Determination of foetal abnormality in many cases can only be done after the 20th week and “by keeping the ceiling artificially low, women who obtain reports of serious foetal abnormality after the 20th week have to suffer excruciating pain and agony because of the deliveries that they are forced to go through.
• The ceiling of 20 weeks is therefore arbitrary, harsh, discriminatory and violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/hc-allows-termination-of-28-week-pregnancy-based-on-aiims-board-report/article33548231.ece

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