Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has asked advocates to provide details about the condition of those women who are more than 20 weeks along in their pregnancy and want to abort.
The advocates of such women should not mislead and misuse the courts for getting an abortion, the court directed. These were the observations of the division bench of Justices Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and Makarand Karnik, while granting permission to a woman, who was 22 weeks pregnant, to abort.
The doctors had advised her to abort because her foetus had complications and had she given birth to the baby, it would have to undergo many surgeries. The petition stated, the woman already had a child and her family was in no position to afford multiple surgeries for the newborn. Considering all these aspects and the medical report, the HC allowed her to abort.
The judges have stated most of the petitions filed by women who want abortions fail to specify their social background and status, their financial condition, as well as that of their family — are they dependent or salaried, why they have to seek relief from the courts. The HC stated all these details should be explained in the women’s petitions.