Should a pregnant, mentally challenged woman who was raped be allowed to motherhood or should her unborn child be aborted as she conceived after being raped? The Supreme Court has stayed order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which had ordered immediate termination of the woman’s pregnancy. The girl is an orphan who was raped, by the staff of a Nari Niketan in Chandigarh. After the expiry of the 20th week of pregnancy, it is illegal to abort a foetus.
The lawyer who argued the case on behalf of the girl said that the girl is 19 to 20 years old and has an IQ of a 7-9 years old. The girls lawyer argued that unless a mother expressed her consent of termination of her pregnancy its illegal. The lawyer of the victim also reminded the bench that India was a signatory to the UN convention which takes care of the rights of mentally challenged persons.
The Bench conceded that the girl was not in a position to take care of herself and her child. "The foetus is fine and does not appear to suffer from any deformity. We cannot say for sure whether the child will be mentally retarded. The pregnancy is in an advanced stage. Moreover, if someone agrees to take care of the mother through the pregnancy and the child when it is born, then why should she be deprived of motherhood". The Bench, which ordered stay of the HC order, said it would soon come out with a detailed judgment on the case.
With full respect to the SC judgement, in my opinion i dont think the girl should have been allowed to carry on with her pregnancy. She is not mentally ready to take care of the child and it what kind of future will that child have. Its said that she refers the baby as "Bhaiya"(brother). I know the state should take care of her and the child but lets be honest they wont. With giving birth to the child the girl will also go through a lot of changes and it can lead to more problems for that girl. The girl is in no position to decide if she wants to carry on with this pregnancy or not with an IQ of a 7 or 9 years old. Thats why its so important to implement the law at the right time and in the right way. If it had been done i am sure termination would be possible.
28 comments:
kya baat hai, law case n all...cool..:)
well nazish, if the girl terminates the pregnancy at this stage, then dont u think her life will be in danger? It is a very sensitive issue, and sourts are usually late in delivering the judgements...so in the end, its too late to terminate the pregnancy even if the court permits...there are various NGOs who take care of such children...you may never know that child may even get adopted by a wealthy family and have the best of the future...
well, it is not wise to comment as we can only imagine what the girl must be going thru, but nothing is above one's life...
I am impressed with the way you have treated a legal matter...my office is recruiting btw..:)
@Neha
Ya i agree its a sensitive issue and both sides do have a point.
Lol...oh thanks neha, having lawyer friends like u that made me handled it :), if ppl like me join your off then dear u'll hav to soon shut it down....hahaha!!!
I agree with you..infact it could be a bit late now..to terminate, even risky for the mother, Even if she does deliver, am sure she wont be able to bring the kid up, so theres no point arguing about depriving her of motherhood, she would be burdened to say the least, but yes theres the point of the foetus's right to live..to contend that is valid.
man, this is such a sensitive issue...i dunno if i can talk for one side or not...i mean on the one hand, she might not be capable of taking care of the child, but on the other her life might be at risk to abort at this stage, no?
anyway, hope everything works out for good...
If the pregnancy was still within the 'safe period', my vote would be for an abortion. Like you said, she lacks the mental state to take care of herself much less the baby that is growing with her. Even she is in the best of care, one cannot gurantee the safety of both the mother and child.
And I didn't quite understand what the victim's lawyer was trying to say. Did he mean the abortion would be illegal if the mother doesn't have a say in it?
How did the victim reach this stage? How come she was not identified earlier? Then perhaps an abortion could have been done..
PS: Has the culprit been identified and sentenced?
@ Sujata
Thanks for your comments!
@ T
I agree with u..we all hope that things work out good for her
@ Usha
Yup the victim's lawyer meant that without her approval and abortion in the 20th week is against the law. Also that India was a signatory to the UN convention which takes care of the rights of mentally challenged person.
Well there the state is responsible for not acting fast and in a proper manner. The culprit has been identified but not sentenced.
It indeed is a tricky case. There is a saying ( & a belief in some quarters that the law is an ass)
In many cases there are so many contours that just dont meet the eye. And i guess the judges saw them. Hopefully!
While i feel strongly against whats being 'inflicted' to the girl, i wonder what the full facts to the case and law are...
what a tragedy! the girl doesn't even realise what's happened to her. She is incapable of taking care of the kid and the kid is bound to lead an equally pathetic life..
i totally agree with u on this one... this is one of the most ssensitive and arguable topics of Indian law.
I think its the girl decision first and if its her health is of risk then its the doctor to decide its not right to be jugemental about her state and make decisions on her behalf.I am sorry for all the women who has gone through these experience and appreciate the effort coming out of it.
Nice blog. Termination should have been done at the early stage. Not in the late stage. Also, I am interested to find out whether they caught the rapist. Why not the Government make the rapist to take care of the girl and the child. I realize enforcing this will be a problem.
Very sensitive post..
If they let the child born, what will he think about his life..
Hey NR...i appreciate your concern and the way you have dealt with such a sensitive topic...way more serious than is really expected :D :D
but then, on that you know wat..our judicial system sucks...its as hypocrite as it could be..i mean in the name of "Justice and Law" they forget to give "common sense" a higher podium..and wat were they doin before the pregnancy reached 20 weeks time!!????
offcourse, there can be brighter things happening to the child if it comes to this wrld bt thn the way it has started is all sad....and i am sure with small mercies bestowed from the law and order of our country the rapists are on further look-out for a similar or worse helpless victim and they will again succeed in their endeavor...
Sorry for he cuss words but thn this is the scenario...isn't it???
@ Kavi
I understand n m of the view that the law should should be implemented in the right time and in the right way....sadly which does not happen.
@ JD
I agree with u JD...its really sad!
@ Neha Gandhi
Yup your right this is one of the most ssensitive and arguable topics of Indian law.
Thanks for visiting my blog too & leaving your comments.
@ Shilpa
I think everyone will agree with your points. Thanks Shilpa!
@ SG
I dont think it would be a nice idea to ask the rapist to take care of them as people who do this are actually mentally retarded. A person who rapes is really mentally sick...
@ Swatantra
Exactly Swatantra thats what i also think!
@ Priya
Thanks Priya for your comments!!
Well i think its good but can be better..its only that its not implemented at the right time. Just imagine had this case been brought forward at the right time m sure termination would be a possibility. The decision that High Court gave of termination would have stayed it was only that she was in her 20th week that could have made the bench come up with this judgement.
I appreciate for your wonderful post.The case is very very sensitive as well as a big tragedy for the girl.Now she is in dilemma as the child will be effected in the society.Very critical situation.The rapist should be hanged so that it will be a lesson for other rapists too.
wow. this is so sad. hope the guy who raped is being punished. n i cant imagine the pain the girl will suffer and the mental stress. even fully capable women sometimes can't manage it!!! prayers for her.
Something to think about.Keep Posting!And Spread Awareness...
What kind of person would rape a girl and that too a mentally challenged one.
Since termination is risky now, I only hope the child gets adopted by good family. What a legacy to carry for the child, a rapist father and a mentally challenged mother.
I think they should have detected the pregnancy and allowed termination. This is such a tragic case.
@ Babli
Thanks for visiting my blog n posting your comments
@ Zeba
Yes even i hope so that the guy is being punished
@ numerounity
Its really sad n i agree with u!!
Well no idea about the guy being punished or not! Hope he is punished.
@ Jyothi
Yup thanks Jyothi!
@ Aparna
People who rape are pathetic and these people should be hanged. Yes the life of that child is going to b difficult!
Oh my what a pathetic state of affairs. Trust the court to drag the case. What are they planning to give a judgement when the child is like 6 years old? I truly wish they had acted sooner and went for an abortion bcoz now I really dread the fate of the poor child.
Why in the heavens the culprit is not sentenced yet?
@ Sakshi
Oh thats the way our system works u see!!
Well no idea of the guy being sentenced..!
I am with Aparna.
Since its too late to terminate the pregnancy now, I hope the kid is adopted by a nice family or maybe taken care of by an orphanage.
And what kind of a sick person rapes a mentally challenged woman? Please tell me the man was sentenced for life!!
Brilliant post,Nazish.You've putforth a very sensitive,yet a brave issue.
I fully understand your concerns,Nazish.And my heart goes out to that poor girl who probably doesnt even realize the gravity of what happened and is going to happen to her.
If she had been in her early stages of pregnancy,abortion would have the perfect choice in my opinion.But an advanced stage abortion will be harmful for the girl.and that is a risk I dont think any state would be willing to take,would they?they would much rather take the responsibility of looking after the mother-child than facing any dire consequences otherwise.
Anyway lets hope and pray the girl and the baby are well taken care of.
@ Deeps
Thanks Deeps...ya i agree that its too late now for abortion!! N hope justice is done!!
I think terminating the pregnancy would be adding to an already tragic situation. Let something good come out of this, give the baby life and another family the joy of raising a child.
"Let something good come out of this, give the baby life and another family the joy of raising a child."..LOVED WHAT KB SAID! what a beautiful thought!
@ KB
Oh those are really words of wisdom, i wish something like that happens.
@ Deeps
Oh ya Deeps i totally agree with ya!!!
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