The Bombay High Court’s refusal to allow the termination of pregnancy of Niketa Mehta on the ground that it was not convinced that to be born child would be abnormal, is certainly a landmark judgment. This case has grabbed public and media attention over the last few days and sparked off arguments for and against the issue. The moot question is, do we have a right to terminate life? Niketa had found out only in the twenty-fourth week of her pregnancy that the foetus had a heart ailment. However, as abortion at such an advanced stage was illegal, doctors refused to abort the child. According to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, the foetus may be aborted within 20 weeks only if there was a fatal risk to the mother. But the couple hailing from a middle class background had their own financial constraints. Their child would require a pacemaker from the time of birth and replaced after every five years thereafter. It was beyond the Mehatas’ means. In any case, the dilemma throws a question. Would it be ethical to abort a baby at such an advanced stage? One view is that we have no right to terminate a life. The other view is that such a decision should be left to the parents’ discretion.
Farzana Nigar
Ranchi, Jharkhand