'Can't Compel Anyone': Supreme Court Allows Maharashtra Woman To Terminate 30-Week Pregnancy

Last Updated:February 06, 2026, 14:16 IST

The Supreme Court allowed a woman from Maharashtra to terminate her 30-week pregnancy, holding that courts cannot compel any woman to continue an unwanted pregnancy.

The Supreme Court on Friday permitted an 18-year-old Maharashtra woman, who has been a victim of sexual assault, to medically terminate her 30-week pregnancy. According to the details, the woman had conceived while she was a minor.

As it passed the order, the court said it cannot compel any woman, “much less a minor child", to continue an unwanted pregnancy when she has clearly expressed her unwillingness to do so.

The case was heard by a Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.

As reported by Live Law, the judges stressed that the central consideration before the court was the pregnant woman’s reproductive autonomy and bodily integrity, particularly given that she had become pregnant while she was a minor and was now unwilling to carry the pregnancy to term.

In its order, the bench recorded that the decisive question was not whether the underlying relationship had been consensual or the result of sexual assault, but the minor’s present refusal to continue the pregnancy.

“What has to be considered in the instant case is the right of the minor child to continue a pregnancy which is ex facie illegitimate in as much as she is a minor and has to face this unfortunate situation of having the pregnancy owing to a relationship that she had," the court observed.

It went on to state, “If the interest of the mother is to be taken note of, then her reproductive autonomy must be given sufficient emphasis. The court cannot compel any woman, much less a minor child, to complete her pregnancy if she is otherwise not intending to do so."

During the hearing, Justice Nagarathna acknowledged the moral and legal difficulty involved in such cases, particularly when termination is sought at an advanced stage of pregnancy.

According to the report, she pointed out that women often take time to arrive at a decision about whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy, and that strict application of statutory gestational limits could drive vulnerable patients to unsafe alternatives.

“Whose interest do we look into? An unborn (illegitimate) child or the mother who’s giving birth?" Justice Nagarathna asked in open court, adding that doctors frequently refuse procedures once statutory timelines are crossed.

“Sometimes it takes time to decide whether to terminate or not. Where will they go? To quacks and unauthorised doctors," she said.

Reflecting further on the dilemma before the bench, Justice Nagarathna remarked, “It is also difficult for us, but what to do. Should we compel her to give birth to a child? Because the child which will be born is also ultimately going to be a life. Then there is another question, that if she can terminate at 24 weeks, why not at 30 weeks?"

“Ultimately, she doesn’t want to continue the pregnancy. Bottom line is she doesn’t want to give birth, that is the difficulty," Justice Nagarathna said.

Allowing the plea, the Supreme Court directed Mumbai’s JJ Hospital to undertake the medical termination of the pregnancy, while ensuring that all necessary medical safeguards are followed.

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