Pregnancy Terminate : The Bombay High Court has allowed a 23-year-old unmarried woman to terminate a pregnancy of more than 20 weeks, saying that barring such permission to married women would amount to a narrow interpretation of the law. A division bench said such a narrow interpretation would make the legal provision discriminatory against unmarried women and thus violate Article 14 of the Constitution.

On October 7, a division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Neela Gokhale took exception to the Maharashtra government's opposition to the plea of ​​an unmarried woman on the ground that the petitioner did not fall in the specified category of women who could be compelled to terminate the pregnancy beyond 20 weeks.

Under Rule 3-B of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTPA) Rules, only certain categories of women are allowed to have abortions up to 24 weeks. These categories include sexual assault victims, minors, widows or divorcees, physically or mentally challenged women, and those with fetal abnormalities.

The woman's plea said that her pregnancy was a result of consensual sex and she did not have the financial means to support the child. In September 2024, the woman was 21 weeks pregnant and the state-run JJ Hospital advised her to seek court approval for abortion as it had crossed the 20-week limit. Under the provisions of the MTPA, pregnancy beyond the 20-week gestation period can be terminated only after court approval. The court allowed the woman to undergo a medical procedure to terminate the pregnancy.