In a shocking incident, an Indian court denied abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who was impregnated, ruling she is too young and her pregnancy too advanced to have an abortion. The survivor, six months pregnant after her maternal uncle allegedly raped her several times, CBS News reported.
The district court in the northern city of Chandigarh based its decision on an opinion by a panel of doctors from the city’s Government Medical College and Hospital, where the girl was examined, according to the hospital’s medical superintendent.
“If you abort than the risk to life is greater,” said the superintendent.
Notably, a 1970s law in India known as the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act bars abortions beyond 20 weeks, though courts have made exceptions if the fetus is not viable or if the mother’s life is at risk. According to Indian Express reports, the mother of the survivor works as a domestic help at the government official’s residence. Her husband is a watchman in the UT administration and is studying for an MBA degree through correspondence. The family is originally from Nepal and has been living in Chandigarh for several years.
