Delhi High Court allows widow to terminate 27-week pregnancy due to mental trauma

The Delhi High Court has granted permission for a 23-year-old widow to undergo a medically induced termination of her 27-week pregnancy, citing severe mental trauma following the death of her husband in October of the previous year.

Justice Subramonium Prasad, presiding over the case, carefully considered the woman's circumstances and the psychiatric evaluation report from AIIMS. The court noted a significant change in the petitioner's mental state since becoming a widow and highlighted the psychiatric evaluation, which indicated extreme trauma and suicidal tendencies.

"There is a change in the marital status of the petitioner. The petitioner has become a widow. The psychiatric evaluation report of the AIIMS indicates that the petitioner is suffering from extreme trauma due to the death of her husband," Justice Prasad stated.

Expressing concern about the petitioner's mental well-being, the court emphasized, "This court is of the opinion that, at this juncture, the petitioner should be permitted to terminate her pregnancy because allowing her to continue with the pregnancy can impair her mental stability as she is showing suicidal tendencies."

Acknowledging the urgency of the situation, the court directed AIIMS to initiate the procedure for terminating the woman's pregnancy, even though she had crossed the 24-week gestation period. The judgment underscored the potential threat to the woman's mental stability if the pregnancy were to continue.

"Accordingly, the petitioner is permitted to undergo the procedure for termination of her pregnancy at AIIMS. AIIMS is requested to conduct the procedure even though the petitioner has crossed her gestation period of 24 weeks," the court declared.

The decision follows the woman's admission to the psychiatry ward at AIIMS, where she underwent a thorough psychiatric evaluation. Despite the initial reluctance of the medical board to recommend termination, the woman's counsel, Dr. Amit Mishra, argued that her mental and physical trauma, exacerbated by her inability to eat, warranted the termination of her pregnancy.

Dr. Mishra contended that compelling a woman to continue a pregnancy under such circumstances infringed upon her privacy, emphasizing the importance of respecting her autonomy.

The Delhi High Court had previously directed AIIMS to conduct a psychiatric evaluation of the woman, and on December 30, the vacation bench specifically sought input from the Department of Psychiatry to assess the potential harm to her health if the pregnancy were to continue.

The psychiatry department's report, filed on December 28, 2023, highlighted the woman's severe mental trauma with suicidal thoughts, leading to the court's decision to grant her plea for a late-term pregnancy termination.