The Gujarat High Court had earlier directed a government hospital in Ahmedabad to set up a medical board to examine the survivor and assess the feasibility of termination. (AI-generated image)

Gujarat High Court news: Emphasising a survivor’s right to bodily integrity and mental health, the Gujarat High Court has authorised the medical termination of a 22-week pregnancy for a 16-year-old rape survivor and said that forcing the minor to continue the pregnancy would amount to asking a child to give birth and raise another child.

Justice M R Mengdey was hearing a special criminal application filed by the minor through her guardian, seeking permission under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971.

Justice M R Mengdey underscored that compelling a minor rape survivor to carry a pregnancy to term would amount to denying her the right to live with dignity.

“It would not be appropriate to expect the minor victim who is a rape victim to take the burden of giving birth and raising a child, especially…