Centre, Maharashtra to respond to plea challenging validity of abortion laws

July 22, 2016 09:58

The Centre and the Maharashtra government will on Friday respond to a plea challenging the validity of India's abortion laws.

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notices to both the Centre and state government on the petition filed by a woman, who is presently in the 24th week of her pregnancy.

In her petition, the woman claimed that the foetus inside her has abnormalities, adding once the baby is born it will cause enormous mental distress to the mother.

The petition argued by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves said that the current laws dont permit an abortion after twenty weeks of pregnancy.

The petition argues the current laws deny women the right to abort in case of extraordinary medical complications.

The constitutional validity of Section 3(2) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, prescribing a ceiling of 20 weeks has been challenged before the Supreme Court.

The ceiling of twenty weeks has been termed as unreasonable, arbitrary, harsh, discriminatory and violative to the Right to Life and Equality.

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