The Delhi High Court (HC) ruled on Tuesday that compelling a rape survivor to continue a pregnancy stemmong from sexual assault and assume motherhood against her will amounts to a serious impairment of her right to live with dignity. 

The HC made the aforementioned observation while allowing a plea on behalf of a 15-year-old rape survivor, who sought termination of her pregnancy. It has crossed 30 weeks of gestation. Justice Madhu Jain of the High Court, in an order dated September 8, said the advanced stage of pregnancy could not, by itself, be considered in isolation from the girl’s fundamental rights.

She remarked, “In cases arising out of sexual assault, compelling a survivor to continue with a pregnancy resulting from the assault and thereby fastening upon her the responsibility of motherhood against her will would amount to a serious impairment of her right to live with dignity.”

Girl has the right to decide whether to become a mother

The court remarked that a woman’s right in relation to her body necessarily includes the right to decide whether she wishes to become a mother. 

It ruled that forcing a sexual assault’s survivor to carry and deliver the baby conceived as a consequence of the alleged crime could expose her to further and lasting physical and psychological trauma. Acknowledging that the pregnancy’s advanced gestational age required heightened medical caution, the court said this could not deprive the minor of the consideration of her rights to bodily autonomy, dignity and reproductive choice. 

Concurrently, the court underscored that any medical procedure would remain subject to an assessment of the girl’s physical fitness, medical feasibility and all requisite safeguards. 

Notably, under Section 3 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of the Indian Constitution, termination beyond 20 weeks and up to 24 weeks is permitted for specified categories of females, subject to statutory requirements. 

“No child should face such circumstances,” says court

Justice Jain called the case ‘unfortunate and distressing,’ shedding light on the circumstances faced by the 15-year-old, who had allegedly fallen prey to a heinous sexual assault and had lost both her parents. 

The HC said a child who should have been protected, nurtured and allowed to grow in safety and dignity had instead been forced to confront circumstances no child should have to face. 

It said, “A child of 15 years cannot, in the eyes of this court, be reduced to the description of a ‘mother’ merely because she has been forced into pregnancy as a consequence of sexual violence.”

The court also acknowledged that while the law could provide remedies and procedures, no judicial order could undo the trauma endured by the girl. 

Justice Jain remarked, “What the court can, however, do is ensure that, at a moment of such profound vulnerability, the child is met not with further hardship, but with care, dignity, compassion and the protection of the law.” 

State to bear medical expenses

While allowing the plea to be heard, the court issued orders to the medical superintendent of Lady Hardinge Medical College and SK Hospital to ensure arrangements for the termination at the earliest and maintain a record of the procedure. 

Doctors were further directed to preserve tissue or foetal material for DNA identification and other purposes linked to the criminal case registered in connection with the rape. The State was thereafter directed to bear all expenses, including the procedure, medicines, investigations, hospitalisation, food and incidental medical requirements. 

Towards the end of the hearing, the court ruled that if the child was born alive despite the procedure, all feasible measures should be ensured for its medical care, while the Child Welfare Committee would take further steps in accordance with the law.