Court must bow down to mother’s decision on not giving birth to baby with abnormalities: Madras HC

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Observing that a court has to bow down to the heart-rending decision taken by a mother to not give birth to a baby with abnormalities, the Madras High Court has permitted a woman to terminate her pregnancy on discovering that the foetus was suffering from substantial abnormalities.

Justice P.T. Asha wrote: “The mother has the right to take a decision as to whether she would like to bring such a child into the world, particularly when the child is not going to lead a normal life. Therefore, this Court has to bow down to the decision of the petitioner/mother who has taken a painful and extreme step by taking note of the considerable risk involved in this child’s chance of leading a dignified and self-sustained life.”

The judge also said: “It is the parents who would have to watch, day in and day out, the suffering that such a child would have to undergo. The parents have taken this decision to ensure that the child is not brought into this world to lead a life of indignity. Further, the unborn child also has the right to live a life of dignity and not be a subject of ridicule. This Court also has to consider the life of this child after the lifetime of the parents.”

The judge quashed the proceedings issued by the chairperson of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Government Hospital for Women and Children at Egmore in Chennai on October 13, 2026 refusing to terminate the pregnancy since a medical board had opined that the neurological abnormalities were not lethal. She ordered termination of the pregnancy forthwith since it had already crossed 24 weeks.

Justice Asha pointed out that the writ petitioner and her husband were already blessed with a son born in 2024 and this was the petitioner’s second pregnancy. Her trimester scan report revealed that there was mild ventriculomegaly (enlargement of brain ventricles due to build-up of cerebrospinal fluid). The couple took a second opinion which too confirmed the abnormality.

After the petitioner underwent an ultrasound scan, the extended neurosonography report indicated that the doctors had noted agenesis of corpus callosum (a congential cerebral malformation) and bilateral moderate ventriculomegaly. The couple were told that foetuses with agenesis corpus callosum had an increased risk of developmental difficulties such as cognitive dysfunction, behavioral difficulties, social communication problem, epilepsy and intellectual disability.

The couple were also told that the degree of impairment could not be reliably predicted before birth and that the presence of additional cerebral abnormalities or genetic abnormality would increase the risk significantly. Hence, the couple had taken the decision to terminate the pregnancy and approached the court after the doctors refused to undertake the process.

Published - November 04, 2026 03:47 pm IST