A pregnant 13-year-old from the city of Mumbai who was the victim of rape has appealed to the Supreme Court seeking permission to abort her baby.
Her pregnancy was discovered when the girl was taken to the doctor by her parents seeking treatment for obesity.
The girl has alleged that a colleague of her father raped her – the man has been arrested.
The young girl is 30 weeks pregnant and in India, terminations are only allowed after 20 weeks should be the life of the mother be in danger.
The case just days after another case in India, which The Asian Today reported, in which a 10-year-old, in the city of Chandigarh, was raped and subsequently gave birth to a baby girl.
That case caught international attention after the girl was denied an abortion by the court on the grounds that her pregnancy was too far developed.
In this case, gynaecologist Dr Nikhil Datar, who examined the girl, said, “She was brought to me by her parents on 9 August. They suspected she had a thyroid problem or some other medical condition because she was gaining weight. The scan showed that she was 27 weeks pregnant so I informed the police.”
Dr Natar said that the girl, unlike the 10-year-old, “knows she’s pregnant and kind of understands what it means, but not fully.”
“Her pelvis is not fully developed to carry a baby to full term and she will go through physical and mental trauma if she’s not allowed to abort,” he said.
“There are definite risks to her health. It will be more troublesome for her the longer it’s allowed to continue.”
Sneha Mukherjee, a Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) lawyer, who has filed the petition on behalf of the girl’s parents, said, “The courts also have to make their decision keeping in mind what’s in the best interest of her, she too is a child after all.”
