Forcing woman to continue pregnancy violates bodily integrity: Delhi HC

4 months ago 1
ARTICLE AD BOX
The tribunal  noted the ‘golden thread’ moving  throught the enactment of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act was wounded   to a woman’s carnal   and intelligence   health.

The tribunal noted the ‘golden thread’ moving throught the enactment of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act was wounded to a woman’s carnal and intelligence health. | Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

The Delhi High Court has observed that forcing a pistillate to proceed with her gestation “violates her bodily integrity” and “aggravates intelligence trauma”.

The tribunal passed the judgement connected January 6 portion discharging a pistillate successful a transgression lawsuit filed by her estranged hubby for medically terminating her 14-week foetus.

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna noted the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act did not necessitate a large pistillate to get the husband’s support for termination of pregnancy, and the “golden thread” moving done the enactment was the interest for “grave injury” to a woman’s carnal arsenic good arsenic intelligence health.

Medically, the word ‘golden thread’ refers to a cohesive and continuous travel of accusation that connects each aspects of diligent care.

“If a pistillate does not privation to proceed with the pregnancy, past forcing her to bash truthful represents a usurpation of the woman’s bodily integrity and aggravates her intelligence trauma, which would beryllium deleterious to her intelligence health,” said the court.

‘Not an offence’

“When the apex court, successful its judgments, has recognised the autonomy of a pistillate to question termination successful the concern of a marital discord which tin interaction her intelligence health, and besides the proviso of Section 3 MTP Act and the Rules framed therein, it cannot beryllium said that an offence nether Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code [punishment for causing miscarriage] was committed by the petitioner,” the tribunal observed.

The pistillate had challenged a sessions tribunal bid which upheld her summoning earlier a magisterial tribunal for the offence nether Section 312 IPC (punishment for causing miscarriage).

She contended that her reproductive autonomy guaranteed nether Article 21 of the Constitution had been criminalised and her lawful workout of cardinal close to privacy, bodily integrity and decisional liberty was overlooked.

The husband, connected the different hand, argued that since connected the day of abortion, the mates was surviving unneurotic and truthful had nary marital discord, the provisions of the MTP Act would not beryllium applicable.

The court, however, rejected the contention and said marital discord could not beryllium “overstretched” to mean that it exists lone aft the parties person separated and gone into litigation.

In this case, the crushed fixed by the woman successful her OPD paper showed that she already felt the accent of matrimony and had made a determination to abstracted from her husband.

Published - January 09, 2026 01:13 americium IST

Read Entire Article