India, Feb. 7 -- Directing medical termination of a 30-week pregnancy of a 17-year-old, the Supreme Court on Friday said that courts cannot compel a woman, much less a minor, to continue a pregnancy. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that the girl had become pregnant while being in a relationship and sought to medically terminate her pregnancy.

The bench asked Mumbai's JJ Hospital to undertake the medical termination of the pregnancy of the minor while ensuring that all necessary medical safeguards are followed. It observed that the court had considered the fact that the right of the minor child to continue the pregnancy, which, on the face of it, was "illegitimate" as she herself was a minor and was facing the pre...