The Prayagraj, Allahabad High Court observed that although there is standard operating procedure for medical termination of pregnancy up to 24 weeks, courts still face petitions filed by rape victims who often come to know about their pregnancy at a delayed stage.
Allahabad High Court delays detection of pregnancy in flag rape cases, says SOP not effectively implementedDealing with a suo moto PIL in which a minor rape victim sought termination of her pregnancy, a bench comprising Justice Soumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Indrajit Shukla sought an affidavit from the Principal Secretary, Women and Child Health Care in Uttar Pradesh on February 6.
“Since the law allows termination of such pregnancy up to 20 weeks and not more than 24 weeks, rape victims often come to know about the pregnancy late and sometimes, perhaps due to lack of understanding and knowledge of the law and procedure, the victims and their families lose valuable time,” the bench said.
Noting that laws and SOPs exist in the state, showing willingness to comply with the legal provisions, the court observed that despite this, individuals approach the courts to terminate unwanted pregnancies.
The bench observed that there were flaws in the implementation of the SOPs framed by the state.
More Read
It also noted that the state must have schemes for victims where they choose to carry their pregnancy to full term and also in cases where they want to give the child up for adoption.
Courts have also highlighted the preservation of fetuses for compensation and prosecution of victims.
“Unless nodal authority is provided with other professionals and officials and organizations such as a specialist counselor who can advise the victim and her family about options available regarding termination of pregnancy etc., the will of the state to take care of such hapless citizens may remain unfulfilled,” the bench said.
More Read
The court also said that measures should be provided to avoid violation of the 24-week limit, including providing pregnancy tests to victims with the option of keeping or terminating the pregnancy within the 24-week limit.
The court has fixed the hearing of the case on March 13.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without text modification
