Kochi: High Court says that a married woman does not need her husband’s permission to have an abortion. The action is on the petition of a 21-year-old woman. Justice VG Arun granted conditional permission for the abortion to the woman who was suffering from domestic violence even though she was 21 weeks pregnant.
The order has also considered the report of the medical board. The case will be heard after two weeks. The court observed that the harassment by her husband and family had caused severe psychological trauma to the young woman.
She went to the family planning clinic of Kottayam Medical College for an abortion, but the doctors sent her back as there were no documents of legal separation from her husband. After filing a domestic violence complaint against her husband and mother-in-law, she approached the doctors.
However, the doctors refused because the pregnancy was past 21 weeks and it would affect her health. Then the woman approached the High Court. The court directed the woman to give an affidavit that she takes full responsibility for the abortion.
