Bombay High Court asks if woman with intellectual disability has no right to become mother

Bombay High Court questions woman's right to motherhood due to intellectual disability, seeks consent for pregnancy termination.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday (January 8, 2025) questioned whether a woman with intellectual disability has no right to become a mother.

A division bench of Justices R. V. Ghuge and Rajesh Patil was hearing a petition filed by a 27-year-old woman’s father, seeking permission for medical termination of her 21-week pregnancy on the ground that she was of a mentally unsound mind and unmarried.

The man in his plea submitted that his daughter wanted to continue the pregnancy.

The bench had last week directed that the woman be examined by a medical board at the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai.

As per the report submitted by the medical board on Wednesday (January 8, 2025), the woman is not mentally unsound or ill, but was diagnosed with borderline intellectual disability with an IQ of 75%.

The bench noted that the woman’s parents had not made her go through any psychological counselling or treatment, but only kept her on medication since 2011.

The medical board’s report said there were no abnormalities or anomalies in the foetus and the woman was medically fit for continuation of the pregnancy.