In Brief
A 22-year-old pregnant woman filed a petition seeking permission to terminate her pregnancy after discovering her fetus had anencephaly (a condition involving absence of the brain and skull vault). A medical board certified the fetus was at 25-26 weeks gestation and the condition was not compatible with life, with the infant having less than a 10-20% survival rate. The Court held that continuation of pregnancy posed severe mental injury to the mother with no medical benefit. Allowing the petition, the Court directed the respondents to permit medical termination under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971."
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