Our bodies, their choices

The Suno India Show

On October 16, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court rejected the abortion plea of a 27-year-old mother of two boys. She moved the court as she was suffering from postpartum psychosis after her second child. She was more than 6 months pregnant, and had crossed the 24-week barrier that is prescribed in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.

This case is significant because a two-judge bench had given an order permitting the abortion. But the case flipped after a doctor from All India Institute of Medical Sciences doctor raised clarifications with the bench seeking a specific directive to stop the foetal heart. The case then resulted in a split verdict, going to a higher three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The higher bench denied the abortion plea, and asked her to deliver the child at AIIMS. The court even said that they can give up the child for adoption if they wish to.

Suno India’s consulting editor Menaka Rao spoke to this woman’s lawyer, Amit Mishra. He talks about her journey through this case, and a few other women he represented and says that women have a hard time getting abortion in the country if the pregnancy advances beyond 20 weeks.

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