Abortion plea: Doctors of KEM hospital in Mumbai examine woman

The Supreme Court which will now hear the case on Friday, based on the report submitted by doctors from KEM Hospital.

A team from KEM Hospital in Parel on Thursday evaluated a 24-week pregnant woman, who has approached the Supreme Court seeking permission to abort her foetus that has a rare birth defect.

The woman, during the 21st week of pregnancy, had gone for a sonography and discovered that the foetus has a serious condition called anencephaly. (Pic for Representation)

“She came to the hospital at 3:00 pm on Thursday. Our doctors conducted a medical examination and have sent the report to the Supreme Court by email, fax and courier,” said Dr Avinash Supe, dean of KEM Hospital.

He added that the committee, which had also evaluated a similar case of a rape survivor in July last year, comprised of five members. The woman, during the 21st week of pregnancy, had gone for a sonography and discovered that the foetus has a serious condition called anencephaly, in which a baby is born with parts of the brain missing. Doctors say that such babies have very slim chances of survival.

“There is not a single case of an unborn baby with anencephaly, who has survived. It is not her fault that she found out about her baby’s condition a little after 20 weeks,” said Dr Nikhil Datar, medical director, Cloudnine Hospital, Malad, who has filed the petition in the Supreme Court.

“Before she came to me, she had approached many doctors to have an abortion procedure done for her. All of them refused to perform the procedure owing to the 20-week limit,” he had told HT.

The Supreme Court which will now hear the case on Friday, based on the report submitted by doctors from KEM Hospital.