On Thursday, the Bombay High Court granted permission for a woman to end her 27-week pregnancy due to severe congenital abnormalities. This authorization was given for the procedure to take place at a private hospital, as the government-run facility lacked the necessary capability for selective foetal reduction.

Following an examination by the medical board at the state-run JJ Hospital, the woman was granted permission to undergo the termination procedure.

In its report, the board expressed that if the baby were born alive during the procedure, it would be admitted to the neo-natal intensive care unit. However, the woman, in her plea, requested to undergo the procedure at a private hospital of her choosing. She also expressed concerns about the possibility of the baby being born alive and requested selected foetal reduction.

Earlier this week, a division bench comprising Justices A S Chandurkar and Jitendra Jain sought clarification on whether the woman could choose to undergo the procedure and whether either the civic-run Cooper Hospital or the state-run JJ Hospital had the necessary facility to accommodate her request.

On Thursday, Advocate General Birendra Saraf informed the bench that the woman could undergo a selected foetal reduction. However, he noted that this facility was not available at either Cooper Hospital or JJ Hospital.

Saraf suggested that the woman could be referred to Wadia Hospital, which is partially managed by the civic body. In response, the woman's advocate, Meenaz Kakalia, proposed that if the procedure were to be performed at Wadia Hospital, then the woman should be allowed to select a hospital of her own choice.

Kakalia also submitted an affidavit filed by the private Cloudnine Hospital, indicating that it has approval from the civic body to conduct termination procedures and possesses the necessary facilities for such procedures.

The bench accepted the affidavit and granted permission for the woman to undergo the termination procedure at Cloudnine Hospital, taking into account the unique circumstances of the case.

Under a recent amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, a woman can abort a pregnancy beyond the 24-week gestation period in the case of severe abnormalities, provided she obtains permission from the medical boards established by the government. Typically, such terminations are performed at government hospitals.