Why Does the Bombay HC Question a Woman's Ability to be a Mom Based on 'Intellect Deficit'?

MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Wednesday questioned why a young woman into her 21st week of pregnancy who has been diagnosed with borderline "intellect deficit" should have no right to motherhood.

A HC-appointed medical board had found the woman only with an intellect deficit, but not of unsound mind. A division bench of Justices R V Ghuge and Rajesh Patil noted that the report submitted Wednesday only indicated that the 27-year-old woman had a borderline case of intellectual disability. Her IQ is 75, and the report found no foetal anomalies either.

"Why Does the Bombay High Court Question a Woman's Ability to Be a Mother Based on 'Intellect Deficit'?"

"Nobody can be super-intelligent. We are all human beings, and everybody has different levels of intelligence," the court remarked, adding that merely being of less-than-average intelligence does not mean she has no right to be a mother. "If we say that persons with below-average intelligence do not have the right to be parents, it would be against the law."

The woman's father petitioned HC for permission to terminate her pregnancy on the ground that she was mentally unsound and unmarried. The woman declined to give her consent for the MTP and wanted to continue with her pregnancy. HC, on Jan 3, after hearing his lawyer SK Dubey and additional govt pleader Prachi Tatake, called for a medical board of the J J Hospital to examine her foetus, and submit its report.

The medical board found her fit to continue her pregnancy but said MTP was also possible. Tatake cited several judgments, including one by Justice Bhushan Gavai of Supreme Court, stating that the woman's consent was important and that the foetus in the womb now also had fundamental rights. Under the law, if a woman is of unsound mind for pregnancies beyond 20 weeks, MTP could be considered, but here it was a "borderline case," HC said, calling for her parents to try and reach out to the man she had a relationship with to see if they could marry.

"They are both adults. It is not an offence," the court said. The woman is an adopted child , and HC stated that as parents, they have a duty to look after her interests.