Kerala HC allows minor rape survivor to terminate 24-week pregnancy

Kerala High Court on Monday allowed a 14-year-old rape survivor to terminate her 24-week-long pregnancy.

Terming it a "difficult and disheartening" situation, a division bench comprising Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Shaji P Chaly passed the order after hearing the matter via video-conferencing.

The court, in an order passed on a petition filed by the girl's father, noted that the right to make reproductive choices is a facet of personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.

A medical board had also informed the court that the continuation of pregnancy posed a risk to the physical and mental health of the adolescent girl as there is an increased risk of "all obstetric complications including gestational hypertension, anemia, risk of operative delivery and obstetric hemorrhage".

The board also opined that there is a possibility of emotionally unstable personality traits in the patient and that the girl did not appear to have the maturity required.

According to the petition, the girl had gone missing around five months ago, and a habeas corpus petition was filed in the High Court to trace her. Later, she was found with a 28-year married man in Mangalore, who was arrested and booked for offenses under the IPC and POCSO.