The government said that an unborn child cannot protect itself from the harm caused by its own mother.
The Center’s response came in response to a plea in law questioning the constitutional validity of Section 3 (2) (b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971, which set a maximum of 20 weeks for an abortion.
The petitioners have requested a rational limit of 26 weeks instead of 20 weeks under the law.
The petitioners have also requested the repeal of a provision restricting abortions only if the aim is to save the life of a pregnant woman.
The center said that the legislature, in its wisdom, had introduced strict conditions for performing abortions, taking into account that the state, as the guardian of its citizens, is moral, dutiful and has the power to live a fetus in the womb afterwards protect reaches the stage of viability.
“The petitioner on his right to reproductive autonomy does not outweigh the State’s interest in protecting the life of the fetus in the womb, especially from the point of viability, that is from the 20 week period.
“It is an established law that a person’s personal choice cannot restrict the freedom or choice of others, especially the most vulnerable and defenseless. The unborn child cannot protect itself from the harm caused by its own mother, ”reads the center’s affidavit.
Several studies have repeatedly shown that even in cases after the age of 20 decided to terminate the pregnancy.
The government affidavit states that India’s high maternal mortality rate is due to women seeking unsafe abortions beyond the mandatory limit of 20 weeks if no fetal abnormalities are detected.
It is said that the ratio of fetal abnormalities observed in children is extremely rare and therefore cannot be cited as the same cause of the high maternal mortality rate in India.
