The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a 15-year-old girl's right to abortion, rejecting a plea by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to reconsider its earlier order permitting the termination of her over 28-week pregnancy.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi emphasized that reproductive choice ultimately rests with the individual and not the state, cautioning against framing the issue as a contest between "an unborn child and a child".
The court underlined that the minor's autonomy and dignity must be prioritized, and that forcing her to continue the pregnancy would violate her right to dignity, autonomy, and personal liberty under the Constitution's Article 21.
The bench also expressed skepticism over the suggestion that the child could be given up for adoption, noting the realities of India's adoption ecosystem and the existence of abandoned children.
The court's intervention came a day after a bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan dismissed a review petition filed by AIIMS, expressing disapproval at the institute's attempt to challenge, rather than implement, the court's directions.
The proceedings marked the culmination of a week-long legal back-and-forth that began with the Supreme Court's April 24 ruling allowing termination despite the pregnancy having crossed the statutory limit under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.
