SC rejects plea to terminate foetus with Down Syndrome

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 28

The Supreme Court today declined to permit a 37-year-old woman from Alibaug district in Maharashtra to terminate her 24-week-old foetus suffering from Down Syndrome after a medical board opined that chances of its survival on birth were high.

“Everybody knows that children with Down Syndrome are undoubtedly less intelligent, but they are fine people,” it said rejecting the woman’s plea.

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A board of doctors from KEM Hospital, Mumbai, had said in its report that the foetus was likely to have mental and physical challenges but opined that it did not warrant termination of pregnancy. It had also said there was no physical risk to the mother in continuing with the pregnancy.

“With this report, we don’t think we are going to allow termination of pregnancy. We have a life in our hands,” the Bench, also comprising Justice LN Rao, said. It said going by the medical advice, it was not possible to grant permission to terminate the pregnancy in question.

Down Syndrome occurs when an individual has additional genetic material that alters the course of development.

Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, a woman is not permitted to abort her foetus after the pregnancy crosses 20 weeks. It’s for this reason that several women have moved the top court for termination of pregnancy which had crossed 20 weeks.

The petitioner contended that Down Syndrome was incurable and could cause physical and mental retardation. A child would not have a normal and healthy life, she contended. In her petition, she submitted that the law allowed termination of pregnancy in extreme cases if it caused grave injury to the physical and mental health of the pregnant woman and if there was a substantial risk of the child suffering from physical and mental abnormalities after birth.

Earlier this month, a 22-year-old woman from Navi Mumbai was allowed to abort her foetus which has under-developed kidneys after a medical board of doctors said the foetus had no chance of survival. But unlike in previous cases, the medical board did not support aborting the foetus suffering from Down Syndrome.

The report of the medical board perused by the SC confirmed that the foetus suffered from Down Syndrome, but said there was 50 to 75 per cent chance of survival of the child in such cases. The board of doctors from KEM Hospital, Mumbai, also found the petitioner to be mentally and psychologically fit.