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ravisheoran
August 5th, 2008, 08:43 AM
Dear friends from the community
require your views on the following news item.I think will be important piece of information for all of us


Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday rejected the petition filed by Niketa and her husband Haresh Mehta, along with their doctor Nikhil Datar, seeking permission to terminate her pregnancy, now in the 26th week.
The foetus was diagnosed with a complete heart blockage when she was in the 24th week of pregnancy. The couple wanted to abort the child for fear it would suffer for life.
A Bench consisting of Justices Khandeparkar and Ahmed Sayyad said there was “no categorical opinion” from medical experts that “if the child were born ..., it would be seriously handicapped.” Moreover, there was no provision in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, to end pregnancy after the 20th week. Only in exceptional cases of danger to the health of the pregnant woman could abortion be allowed, said Justice Khandeparkar. In this case, “no exceptional case has been made out.”
The judge said the issue here, however, was one of future health risks to the unborn child, and not to the mother.
A second medical report submitted by a committee of experts, on the court directive, said there were “least chances” of the child being seriously handicapped.
In its first report, the committee spoke of “fair chances,” an opinion which was equivocal and therefore led to the directive for a second report.
The reports submitted by Niketa’s doctors mentioned serious health risks. However, they were negative to the possibility of cardiac surgery on the birth of the child and to the question whether a pacemaker could be a one-time solution.
The court resorted to Sections 3 and 5 of the Act. Section 3 mandates that opinion of registered medical practitioners be taken to determine any “serious handicap.”
Section 5 allows termination of pregnancy after the 20th week only when there is a health risk to the woman.
“A mere desire to terminate [a pregnancy] will not entitle the woman or doctors to terminate the pregnancy,” said Justice Khandeparkar.
As for the eventuality of the child’s condition, the court said there was no provision in Section 5 to that effect, thus leaving a lacuna. Addressing it was the prerogative of the Legislature and the court had no power to do that.
“The courts are not empowered to legislate upon a statute,” said Justice Khandeparkar.
Finally, the medical reports could not establish that Niketa’s case was exceptional. Therefore, the court had to rule against abortion.
“Nothing is placed on record that the period [for termination of pregnancy] is arbitrarily prescribed,” said Justice Khandeparkar

harvinderkadyan
August 5th, 2008, 10:08 AM
I read the article and found some couple of points1) Court obey laws but doesnt make laws.2) Once there is life , we cannt kill that . Its like mercy death.So after reading this , Thought came to my mind , do we need to review our existing laws according to our present conditions.A person who is pleading for mercy death , can someone grant that ??Requires lots of thoughts.

bhavnasingh20
August 5th, 2008, 10:20 AM
well euthanasia has been a very intense topic of discussion in many countries for quite some time now. but it is not black or white that can be decided so easily.

well it is good for ppl who r genuinely suffering and so voluntarily want to end their lives so as to put an end to their sufferings. but then it can be misused too.suppose there is a person who is ill enough to not be able to speak or express themselves but has the will to live. now relatives of such ppl cud kill them just so they dont hav to suffer with an ailing person on their hand and claim that the patient themselves wanted to die.

also we know very well that in India misuse of any and every law is rampant. my personal opinion is that though it is sad wht happened wit niketa but stil we cannot change our laws acc to each and every case that comes wit a twist.

when we have such a huge population then anyways its very difficult to have laws which wud suit everyone.
so we would just hav to sccept wht best we can get

sohana
August 5th, 2008, 10:22 AM
yes u r very true,our presnt circumstances r such dat they r not abl 2keep a pace wid our old laws.this questn is raisd evrytime whn a similar kind of situation arises..bt no action cud b takn so far..

coolphool
August 5th, 2008, 12:00 PM
I know all the women's rights feminist kind of people get all riled up to grab their coat hangers and hoover vacs to suck the foetus out. But, this needs to be regarded as a personal family decision within the bounds of the law and not an activists' issue.

I think the family needs to seriously consider givnig up the child for adoption or foster care rather than kill it so late.

I know they say they do not want their child to suffer as it grow up. How is it that the child wont suffer as it is scooped out with a coat hanger and a vaccum cleaner (not literally but thats how they do in many parts of the world) ?

Please leave it to the family to decide whats the best for them.

ygulia
August 6th, 2008, 06:13 AM
High Cout has done nothing new. They did it what ever the law permits. If people want a change then they should convince the law makers to do the amendments.

gsvijay1
August 6th, 2008, 09:52 AM
I heard lot of debates about seeking permission to terminate pregnancy on medical ground on TV channels. I personally feel that family in question should not go for termination of pregnancy. As said in the judgement that medical reports could not establish that Niketa’s case was exceptional and doctors’ don’t have unanimous opinion about his case, COUPLE SHOULD GIVE LIFE A CHANCE!!!

Regarding changing Indian law ……. Forget about it!!!!

devikajakhar
August 16th, 2008, 04:38 PM
bros & sis,
Heard that Nikita's suffered a miscarriage and the baby is dead. One hand it is a relief, on the other hand the "Typical Gujju" brain has done it hook or crook - "Seedhi Ungli se Ghee nahi nikalta to Ungli kho taeda karna". She must have eaten something that can cause miscarriage...like lots of "Imli or Cow Dung" or certain leaves.... just like laxatives can cause loose motions, so also delivery can happen at will by taking some "Jari -Bhootti"

Iam in India for Raksha Bhandan, hope to meet most of you Jat Bros & Sis, especially our Women Wrestlers.

Raksha Bhandan ke Shubkamanaye aap sab ko !

Devika