NEW DELHI, July 5 -- The All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Thursday approached the Delhi High Court to challenge a single-judge bench's order permitting the termination of a 27-week pregnancy of a 16-year-old rape survivor.

The institute raised serious medical concerns regarding the impact such a late-stage abortion could have on the minor's future reproductive health.

On June 30, a single judge of the Delhi High Court had granted permission for the termination of the minor's pregnancy, then at 26 weeks, based on her plea and her mother's support. The girl had approached the court after AIIMS doctors expressed legal limitations under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, which generally permits termination up to 20 we...