The Delhi High Court, while allowing a woman to have an abortion, called it an integral part of the fundamental rights of a pregnant woman's bodily autonomy. The woman was 22 weeks pregnant and her husband was nowhere to be found. After this, she approached the High Court to get an abortion.

The woman has been abandoned by her husband

The Delhi High Court allowed a woman to terminate her 22-week pregnancy out of a temporary live-in relationship, saying that a pregnant woman's right to bodily autonomy and self-determination are integral parts of her fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, reports PTI. The court was told that the 27-year-old woman was legally married but had been deserted by her husband and the pregnancy was out of a live-in relationship but her partner has been untraceable since then. The woman, who is single-handedly raising her seven-year-old daughter, has sought permission to terminate the pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.

The doctors refused to perform an abortion

The woman had approached doctors for an abortion but they refused to do so as the pregnancy was beyond the acceptable period of 20 weeks. The High Court said that considering the predictable environment for both the petitioner and the unborn child, the woman's mental health could be endangered if she remained pregnant.

what did the court say

Justice Sanjeev Narula said, "As a single mother deserted by her husband, the petitioner is facing dire economic and social challenges. Struggling to support her first child with limited income, she took a considered decision to terminate her pregnancy at a period of 22 weeks, invoking the provisions of the MTP Act, as amended in 2021."