The Supreme Court of India has delivered a landmark judgment reaffirming that a woman’s constitutional right to reproductive autonomy under Article 21 takes precedence over statutory restrictions under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (MTP Act), particularly in cases involving minors and unwanted pregnancies. The decision underscores that constitutional courts must prioritise the welfare and decisional autonomy of the pregnant woman over procedural limitations, even when statutory remedies are unavailable.
Factual Matrix
The appeal arose from a distressing case involving a fifteen-year-old minor who was found to be carrying a 28-week pregnancy resulting from a consensual relationship with a seventeen-year-old boy. The pregnancy was discovered in the first week of April 2026 when the appellant, the minor’s mother, noticed unusual heaviness in her daughter’s abdomen. An ultrasound scan conducted on 10 April 2026 confirmed a live pregnancy of approximately 27 weeks.
