Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Oct 16
The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has directed Srinagar’s Lalla Ded Hospital to constitute a medical board and urgently assess a request for termination of a pregnancy at nearly 32 weeks after scans detected serious foetal abnormalities.
Justice Muhammad Yousuf Wani issued the direction while hearing a petition by a married couple seeking a medical board to examine the woman and evaluate the abnormalities.
Medical records submitted to the court showed that scans conducted earlier in the pregnancy had not detected any major congenital anomaly. An ultrasound on September 24, when the pregnancy had reached 31 weeks and six days, identified excessive amniotic fluid, a large cystic structure in the foetal lumbar spine and mild ventriculomegaly, with findings suggesting Arnold-Chiari Type II malformation.
A foetal MRI conducted the following day confirmed a large posterior spinal defect with a cystic sac measuring approximately 6 by 6.5 by 8.3 cm, consistent with open spinal dysraphism and a large myelomeningocele, the court was told.
The medical records indicated that the parents had been informed about the possible morbidity and mortality outcomes. The mode and timing of termination were to be decided in consultation with the obstetrician.
With the pregnancy at an advanced stage, the couple approached the High Court for intervention.
The government’s counsel told the court that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and the rules framed in 2003 provide a mechanism for dealing with such cases and suggested that the woman be examined by a competent medical board at Lalla Ded Hospital.
The court observed that Section 3(2-B) of the MTP Act provides an exception to the statutory gestational limits where termination is necessitated by substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by a medical board.
It directed the hospital superintendent to constitute the board and take immediate further action in accordance with its assessment, including consideration of early termination through an approved medical procedure.
The court also directed that if the termination proceeded on the board’s recommendation and the baby was born alive, immediate neonatal intensive care should be provided at the hospital. All necessary medical formalities, including consent, must be completed.
Expressing concern over delays in such cases, the court said registered medical practitioners, particularly those in medical colleges and district hospitals, often failed to discharge their statutory responsibilities under the MTP Act, forcing distressed women to seek judicial intervention.
It said medical boards should not avoid dealing with urgent cases when the applicable legal provisions were clear.
The order directs the hospital to act on the medical board’s opinion while following the relevant legal and medical procedures.
