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On 14 September, a medical panel denied permission to a 14-year-old rape survivor to legally terminate her 33-week-pregnancy.
But the panel took a week to submit its report. This is after the Chief Medical Officer of Bareilly, Dr Vijay Yadav, took a week to allow the medical examination of the rape survivor in a farcical game of musical chairs between the Allahabad High Court, the CMO and the District Magistrate.
Tracking the progress of the case since June 2016, what emerges is a trail of avoidable legal delays, insensitive doctors and a blatantly bureaucratic approach to deal with rape survivors in India.
And caught in the middle of it all?
A 14-year-old rape survivor who neither wants to nor is emotionally or financially capable of raising a child. But now, is forced to give birth to one.
The 14-year old girl was employed in the house of Asif alias Majhle in Bairamnagar village. He raped her repeatedly on the pretext of marrying her. The girl’s father was out of village, working on a construction site. On 26 May 2016, relatives told him that his daughter was pregnant and he returned to his village. In an interview to Hindustan Times, the father said,
The villagers asked him to marry his daughter to the accused, and wanted him to not report the matter to police. When the family members of the girl met the accused, Asif, along with his relatives, allegedly assaulted them. The girl’s father decided to file an FIR.
Two weeks later, on 9 June, the girl’s family files an FIR. At the time of filing the FIR, she is sent for a medical examination, where it is revealed that she was 19 weeks and 6 days pregnant.
On 26 July, they filed an appeal for MTP with the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate. At this point, the minor survivor is 26 weeks pregnant.
Under the Section 3 of MTP Act, 1971, the period of pregnancy should not exceed 12 weeks for an abortion or not exceed 20 weeks in case the physical and mental health of the mother is at risk. In the explanation in the Act, the anguish caused by pregnancy due to rape is presumed to be a grave injury to the mental health of the woman.
Taking into account earlier cases where courts have relaxed the MTP Act to allow rape survivors to terminate their pregnancy, this would have been an appropriate time medically for the courts to take the same decision for the girl.
The girl’s family then files a revision in the sessions court against the order of the lower court. The sessions court transfers the case to a fast track court of Brijesh Mani Tripathi.
For instance, on 25 July 2016, the Supreme Court (SC) passed an order to terminate a woman’s 24-week-pregnancy which sparked a huge debate on India’s abortion laws, particularly with respect to rape survivors.
They file an appeal in the Allahabad High Court. The petition is disposed on 29 August asking the girl’s father to move an application before the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Vijay Yadav.
According to VP Dhyani, the counsel for the girl, when he approached the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Vijay Yadav, he declined to take any action regarding the court’s order. They go to the District Magistrate to secure an order for pregnancy termination and then approach the CMO again. By this time, there has been an unnecessary delay of three days.
On 6 September 2016, the minor rape survivor goes with her father for a medical examination and is asked to come again a day later. In an interview to Hindustan Times, the girl’s father said:
The family was then asked to visit the CMO on Thursday, on 9 September. Later, it was reported that the CMO was attending Tehsil Diwas and was thus, busy.
After the medical examination was conducted on 9 September 2016, the medical panel denied permission for medical termination. According to doctors, the maximum limit for MTP medically is 28 weeks, crucial weeks which could have been saved if the CMO and the courts had acted with sensitivity and speed.
(With inputs from The Hindustan Times and The Times of India.)
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Published: 17 Sep 2016,09:44 AM IST