In second case this year, SC allows woman to abort 24-week foetus with no kidneys

The woman approached the court, while she was in her 21st week of pregnancy, after the foetal growth anomaly termed as bilateral renal agenesis was diagnosed.

By: News Desk |
February 7, 2017 1:28 pm

In the second case this year, the Supreme Court has allowed a Mumbai woman to abort her 24-week-old foetus as an exception under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971.

The SC gave this judgment after Mumbai’s KEM Hospital medical board report stated that 24-week-old foetus had no kidneys and would most likely die after birth. The hospital board further said in its reports that continuation of pregnancy would endanger mother’s life.

The woman approached the court, while she was in her 21st week of pregnancy, after the foetal growth anomaly termed as bilateral renal agenesis was diagnosed. This means absence or failure of both kidneys in body.

This also causes deficiency in amniotic fluid that can cause further malformations in a baby. According to doctors, a baby with this anomaly cannot survive for more than four hours after birth.

The apex court then asked the hospital to give its opinion on the case after diagnosing the petitioner and her foetus.

SC allows a woman to abort her 24-week-old baby after she revealed that the baby had no kidney & would die after taking birth.

— ANI (@ANI_news) February 7, 2017

Earlier, a 22-year-old Thane woman was allowed to undergo abortion after the Supreme Court observed that the foetus suffered from anencephaly, a life threatening condition in which the skull is not fully developed.