The Delhi High Court has observed that forcing a woman to continue with her pregnancy “violates her bodily integrity” and “aggravates mental trauma”.
The court passed the judgement on January 6 while discharging a woman in a criminal case filed by her estranged husband for medically terminating her 14-week foetus.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna noted the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act did not require a pregnant woman to obtain the husband’s permission for termination of pregnancy, and the “golden thread” running through the enactment was the concern for “grave injury” to a woman’s physical as well as mental health.
Medically, the term ‘golden thread’ refers to a cohesive and continuous flow of information that connects all aspects of patient care.
“If a woman does not want to continue with the pregnancy, then forcing her to do so represents a violation of the woman’s bodily integrity and aggravates her mental trauma, which would be deleterious to her mental health,” said the court.
