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The Delhi High Court allowed medical termination of pregnancy for a 16-year-old rape survivor at 31 weeks, ruling that her reproductive autonomy under Article 21 outweighs the 24-week ceiling in the MTP Act. The decision expands access to safe abortion for minor survivors of sexual violence facing grave mental injury.
Denying IVF solely because husband exceeds age limit under Section 21(g) of ART Act 2021 violates wife’s reproductive autonomy; age limits apply individually, allowing couples with one eligible partner to access assisted reproductive technology.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that the breakdown of marriage, coupled with documented psychological trauma and threat to mental well-being, qualifies as a grave risk to the woman’s health under Section 3(2)(b) of the MTP Act, extending termination rights beyond fetal anomaly cases. This affirms reproductive autonomy as a core dimension of Article 21, setting a critical precedent for women in abusive or collapsed marriages seeking legal recourse beyond the 12-week threshold.
The Bombay High Court held that the reproductive autonomy of a 34-year-old woman with moderate intellectual disability and autism, victimized by sexual assault, supersedes the statutory 24-week cap under the MTP Act. This ruling affirms that disability does not diminish bodily integrity under Article 21 and mandates medical boards to prioritize dignity over rigid timelines when assessing termination requests for vulnerable survivors.
The Chhattisgarh High Court ruled that mechanically applying the husband's age limit under Section 21(g) of the ART Act 2021 to deny IVF to a medically fit wife violates her fundamental right to reproductive autonomy under Article 21. The order mandates the fertility clinic to proceed with treatment, shields it from liability, and permits continuation even if the wife reaches 50 during the process, setting a precedent for individualized medical assessment over statutory rigidity.
Bombay High Court ruled that the 24-week gestational limit under the MTP Act does not apply when a Medical Board confirms a 'substantial fetal abnormality' under Section 3(2)(b). The Court permitted termination at 34 weeks for non-lethal skeletal dysplasia, emphasizing the risk of severe lifelong morbidity over statutory timelines, reinforcing reproductive autonomy in exceptional medical cases.
Kerala High Court permits termination of 32-week pregnancy due to severe fetal microcephaly and neurological abnormalities, affirming reproductive autonomy under Section 3(2-B) of the MTP Act.