A Minor Rape Victim's Right to an Abortion Outweighs A Fetus' Right to Be Born, This Country's Court Rules

A minor rape victim’s right to terminate her pregnancy “heavily outweighs” the right of the fetus to be born. 

This was the decision handed down by the Rajasthan High Court in India on Friday, May 1, according to news outlet The Print.

The verdict that reiterated the fundamental right of a woman’s reproductive choices was made by a two-person bench. It also set aside an order passed by a single judge in October last year, when the court ruled that the fetus had a right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

The case involved a 17-year-old rape victim who had approached a lower court judge last year for an abortion. The court denied her request in September, noting that she had already crossed the 20-week pregnancy limit imposed by the 1971 Act.

The girl then appealed to a higher court, which rejected her petition, citing the fetus’ right to life.

“Hence, right to life of the foetus is also required to be considered,” the court then ruled. “Right to life guaranteed by the Constitution of India under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, cannot be invoked for the victim alone. Protection of Article 21 is as much available to the child to be born, unless protection of foetus poses an eminent threat to the life of the mother.” 

It was this rulig that the two-person bench set aside.

In the decision, a part of which The Print included in its report, the state government now asserted that in case of a rape victim, “her fundamental right to live as a normal person without undergoing the trauma of giving birth at such a tender age would have to be given precedence over the fictional fundamental right of the child yet to be born.”

It also contended that in such cases, the right of pregnant rape victims to get an abortion should be unconditional, irrespective of the length of pregnancy.

Abortion is legal in India under certain circumstances. It can be performed on various grounds until 20 weeks of pregnancy, according to a report on the BBC.

In the Philippines, abortion is illegal under any circumstances.