The Supreme Court has allowed a woman in her 25th week of pregnancy bearing twins to medically terminate one of the foetuses detected with substantial abnormalities. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 bars abortion if the foetus has crossed the 20-week mark. It allowed the woman to go ahead with the “selective foetal reduction” procedure after a medical expert reported that the process would not harm the other normal foetus or the mother. Several affected women, even rape survivors, have approached the apex court against the 1971 law. So far, the apex court has dealt with pleas for medical termination of pregnancy on a case-to-case basis.

Source: The Hindu June 23, 2020 16:52 UTC