Supreme Court: No urgent hearing on abortion plea

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Jagdish Singh Khehar, said, “There are very important national issues which are in queue to be adjudicated.  ‘’It is not possible now to decide this plea on abortion law.”  On Thursday, the CJI said the petition could be considered only after the summer vacation. By then, she would have probably delivered her child with Down Syndrome. 

The 37-year-old woman from Alibaug district in Maharashtra, filed the petition on Thursday, after her earlier plea seeking to abort her foetus was turned down on Tuesday by the Apex Court. She pleaded to abort her foetus on the ground that it was suffering from Down Syndrome. The Apex Court, however, relying on a medical board’s advice, turned down her plea.  A board of doctors from KEM Hospital, Mumbai, had said in its report that the foetus was likely to have mental and physical challenges but opined that it did not warrant an abortion.