The Supreme Court on Monday declined a married woman’s plea to medically terminate her 26-week pregnancy, saying the court is averse to ordering doctors to “stop the heartbeat” of the foetus when medical reports say she will give birth to a “viable baby”.
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A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud made it clear that the woman cannot claim an “absolute, overriding right” to abort, especially when multiple reports from the AIIMS medical board have confirmed that the pregnancy was neither a cause of immediate danger to her life or that of the foetus.
