New Delhi, Feb. 7 -- The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that courts cannot compel a woman, much less a minor, to carry a pregnancy to full term if she shows sufficient cause and is unwilling to continue, underscoring that respect for a woman's reproductive autonomy must prevail even beyond the statutory limit under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act. Allowing a petition filed by the mother of an 18-year-old girl from Maharashtra, the court permitted termination of a 30-week pregnancy, setting aside a Bombay high court order that had earlier refused abortion and directed that the child be delivered and put up for adoption. A bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said that forcing continuation of pregnancy against the woman's will would inflict grave mental trauma, not only on the woman but also on the child to be born. "If the interest of the girl is to be taken care of and her reproductive autonomy is to be respected, the court cannot compel a woman, much less a minor, to complete pregnancy if she is unwilling to do so. That would be more traumatic for the woman as well as the child to be born," the bench held. The hearing saw a searching exchange between the bench and counsel for the state of Maharashtra on whether courts can mandate continuation of pregnancy merely because there is no physical threat to the woman's life or the foetus. "This is not an easy decision for us, but we go by 'whose life is it after all'? Even beyond 30 weeks, courts have been permitting termination," observed the bench, referring to recent cases, including one decided by the Delhi High Court. When the state argued that the woman had turned 18 and that courts usually permit termination beyond 24 weeks only in exceptional circumstances such as rape or risk to life, the bench sharply reframed the issue. "That is not the question we should ask. The question is whether she wants to continue the pregnancy or not. Can the court say you must continue?" asked the bench, also underlining that the woman was a minor when she became pregnant. The court repeatedly stressed that the woman's willingness and mental health were central, and not only the medical survivability of the foetus. "She may not have any physical issues to deliver, but the question is her willingness and mental trauma. Can the court say 'no, even if you do not want to deliver, you must'?" the bench asked. The court also cautioned that denying relief could push women towards unsafe abortions. "Then they will stop coming to courts and might as well go for unsafe abortions," it said. Rejecting the argument that termination beyond 24 weeks should be confined to life-threatening situations, the bench observed that mental anguish caused by unwanted pregnancy could itself justify abortion at an advanced stage. "Anguish caused due to pregnancy, since it leads to mental agony, could also be a good ground to allow termination beyond 24 weeks," the apex court said. The bench also took judicial notice of social realities, noting that the pregnancy arose out of an "illegitimate relationship" when the girl was a minor. "She cannot go back to any society. Look at the society we live in.consider the social stigma she has to face," remarked the bench. While the state offered to bear delivery expenses and suggested adoption as an alternative, the court was unconvinced. "The bottom line is that she does not want to give birth to the child. If it is allowed up to 24 weeks, why not at 30 weeks?" it said. In its operative order, the Supreme Court set aside the Bombay high Court's January 27 ruling, which had refused termination at 28 weeks, on the ground that it would amount to foeticide and that a healthy child could be put up for adoption after birth. The apex court allowed the petition and directed that the pregnancy be terminated at Mumbai's JJ Hospital, with all medical safeguards in place. Given the urgency, it ordered the registry to release the operative part of the judgment the same day to enable immediate compliance, noting that a detailed order would follow. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, first enacted in 1971 and then amended in 2021, allows all women to undergo abortion legally for up to 20 weeks, and gives a further extension to women on account of mental anguish, rape, assault and health complications, among others....