Kolkata woman appeals before HC to abort 24-week foetus, court seeks medical reports
Kolkata, Jan 11 (IBNS): A pregnant housewife from south Kolkata has appealed before the Calcutta High Court to grant permission to abort her 24-week-old foetus on the ground of abnormality.
While hearing the plea on Thursday, Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty directed the Additional Advocate General, Abhratosh Majumdar, to submit a medical report from the state- run SSKM hospital regarding the case on Friday (today).
The court also asked the woman and her husband to be present on Friday.
The counsel of the applicant, who is a resident of south Kolkata's Jodhpur Park area, told IBNS, "My client wants to abort her 28-week-foetus as the doctors and medical reports confirmed the unhealthiness and abnormalities of the foetus."
"Physicians suggested the lady to abort the foetus as it would be risky for the baby as well as the mother in upcoming stages," the lawyer said.
"In India, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 permits termination of pregnancy or abortion for a broad range of conditions up to 20 weeks of gestation and if the deadline is crossed, you need to take permission from court," he added.
Earlier in 2017, the Supreme Court had granted permission to a pregnant woman to abort her 28-week-old foetus on abnormality ground.
"We are taking reference of the Supreme Court's order in this case and have appealed for a faster hearing as a woman's life is concerned," the counsel said.
(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)
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