Should pregnancy of mentally challenged rape victim be ended? (Episode 144 on 18 aug 2012)

Khushi played by Nehalaxmi Iyer

PART 1

PART 2

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The Inside Story

SC to Decide Whether a Mentally Challenged Rape Victim's Pregnancy Should be Terminated

New Delhi, India: The Supreme Court of India was faced with a difficult question of whether a mentally challenged woman who was raped and impregnated should be allowed to exercise her right to motherhood or if her unborn child should be aborted. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered the immediate termination of the woman's pregnancy, but the Supreme Court stayed the order and postponed the matter for final decision.

The woman is an orphan who was allegedly raped by staff at a Nari Niketan in Chandigarh and is currently in her 20th week of pregnancy. The bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam has asked about the woman's mental and physical capabilities, including her age and intelligence level. Advocate Tanu Bedi argued that the woman was 19 to 20-years-old but had the IQ of a nine-year-old.

The court found it difficult to agree with Bedi's argument that mental retardation should not be a ground for termination of pregnancy. The bench was concerned about the woman's well-being and that of the child who will be born. The court issued a notice to the Chandigarh administration and postponed the matter for a final decision the following day.

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