Jammu. In a landmark judgment, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court ordered the abortion of a rape victim who was pregnant. A 17-year-old rape victim was required to seek the High Court’s permission to have an abortion, as the law only allows for 20 weeks of miscarriage, while the rape victim has a pregnancy of 26 weeks.
Justice Javed Iqbal Wani directed the officials of Government Medical College of Jammu and SMGS Hospital in the city to get a fresh examination of the victim from the board of doctors and to consult a psychiatrist before the victim’s medical abortion.
The court also directed that the board of doctors, while deciding the abortion of the victim, should ensure that the fetus’s DNA would be kept safe, as it could serve as evidence in the future.
The court also ordered free medical aid to the victim for abortion.
According to the victim’s statement, she was raped by a youth named Ashok Kumar on December 12 in Doda district last year. The accused is in police custody.
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