20-yr-old who sought abortion allowed to give kid for adoption

New Delhi, February 2

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed a 20-year-old student seeking permission to terminate her 29-week pregnancy to give her child, due to be born, up for adoption.

“Permission is granted for the adoption of the child by the prospective parents whose details have been set out in the CARA (Child Adoption Resource Authority) registration form. CARA shall take all necessary steps to facilitate the implementation of this order,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.

The Bench issued the direction after Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the court that the woman did not want to retain the child.

Bhati — who had interacted with her on the court’s direction to understand what course of action she wanted to pursue — offered her own home to shelter the woman who had approached it for permission to terminate her pregnancy.

The petitioner wanted the child to be given in adoption as she would not be in a position to care for the child.

The Bench — which also included Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala — exercised its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to pass the order.

“We are adopting the present course of action consistent with the jurisdiction of this court under Article 142 of the Constitution having regard to the extraordinary situation which has emerged before the court involving a young woman in distress, who moved this court at a late stage of her pregnancy,” it noted.

Ordering that the delivery shall take place at AIIMS, the top court requested the Director, AIIMS, “to ensure that all necessary facilities are made available without the payment of fees, charges or expenses of any nature so that the delivery can take place in a safe environment.”

It asked the AIIMS administration to ensure that her privacy was maintained and steps were taken to ensure that her identity was not disclosed.