Bombay HC permits termination of 27-week pregnancy at private hospital

Bombay High Court allows Thane woman to terminate 27-week pregnancy at private hospital due to foetal abnormalities, setting a unique precedent.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday permitted a Thane woman to terminate her 27-week pregnancy at a private hospital, but emphasised that it was a unique case and should not set a precedent. India’s existing laws prohibit private hospitals from performing such procedures after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The Bombay high court on Thursday permitted a Thane woman to terminate her 27-week pregnancy at a private hospital. Representational Image (Pixabay)

The 37-year-old woman had obtained the approval of the civic-run JJ Hospital’s medical board to terminate her pregnancy due to a congenital heart abnormality in the foetus. However, she wanted Dr Nikhil Datar, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at private hospital Cloudnine, to do the procedure.

That’s when she learnt that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act mandates terminations beyond 24 weeks to occur solely at government hospitals or government-approved institutions. Private hospitals are also not permitted to seek approval to perform such procedures.

Adding to her concerns, the JJ Hospital medical board’s report indicated that if the baby were born alive during the procedure, it would require admission to the neonatal intensive care unit. Fearing the birth of a live baby, she sought selected foetal reduction. In response, she challenged this restriction as a violation of her constitutional right to life, highlighting the emotional distress of being forced to deliver a foetus with severe abnormalities.

During the hearing, Advocate General Birendra Saraf, representing the state, informed the bench that the woman could undergo the selected foetal reduction but noted that civic-run Cooper Hospital or JJ Hospital did not offer the facility. Instead, he suggested referring her to Wadia Hospital, a private hospital that’s partly managed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). He also informed the court that Dr Datar may not be abe to take part in the procedure even at Wadia Hospital because of its internal policies.

However, the woman’s advocate, Meenaz Kakalia, then requested the court to let her client choose a private hospital of her preference if the state was okay with the procedure being conducted at Wadia Hospital, which isn’t a government institution. Kakalia also presented an affidavit from Cloudnine Hospital proving it has the BMC’s approval to carry out pregnancy termination procedures and possesses the necessary facilities.

Accepting the affidavit, a bench comprising Justice AS Chandurkar and Justice Jitendra Jain permitted the woman to undergo the termination procedure at Cloudnine, acknowledging the case’s unique circumstances.

Dr Datar, the co-petitioner, was pleased with the court’s decision. “I am happy that women are coming forward fearlessly to fight for their health rights.” However, he added that although the 53-year-old MTP Act was recently amended to expand access to safe and legal abortion services, there’s still room for improvement.

“There are many errors, and this is causing doctors a lot of difficulty in interpreting the law. Many a time, this is leading to illogical and absurd decisions. This case was a blatant example of the same. I, as a co-petitioner, have highlighted two such absurdities in the law. If these are not resolved at the earliest, many more women will have to again approach the courts. I am happy that the court has still kept the larger issue alive, and I hope that these issues will get resolved at the earliest in the interest of women and their reproductive rights,” Dr Datar said.