Recently, a single woman, residing in Delhi, approached the Delhi High Court seeking permission to terminate her 22-week-old pregnancy. The reason for her wanting a Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) at this stage was a change in her personal circumstances — her partner did not want to support her and the pregnancy anymore and she did not want to continue this journey on her own because of her practical realities.
The Delhi High Court refused her permission by referring to the recently amended provisions of the MTP Act, which recognised the need for a request for an MTP by an unmarried woman on the grounds of contraceptive failure; however, this was only till 20 weeks of gestational limit. A change in circumstance was available, as per the law, only for a married woman up to 24 weeks.
The woman filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of India, which in the first instance, granted her permission to terminate the pregnancy based on the report of the medical board concerned. It also heard the case on the aspect of the constitutionality of the classification based on the marital status of a woman that the law, particularly the rules, has created.
