In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has emphasized the right of a 27-year-old woman with below-average intelligence to maintain her pregnancy, rejecting her 66-year-old adoptive father’s plea for its termination. The woman, who has not been legally declared mentally incapacitated but is noted to have borderline intellectual functioning, expressed her desire to keep the baby, stating she did not consent to an abortion.
Justices Ravindra V. Ghuge and Rajesh S. Patil presided over the case, questioning the notion that intelligence should determine one’s right to motherhood. “Observation is she has below-average intelligence. Nobody can be super intelligent… we are human beings, everybody has different levels of intelligence. Because she has below average intelligence, she has no right to be a mother?” the court stated during the proceedings.
The adoptive father, who took legal guardianship of the woman when she was six months old in 1998, argued that her mental disorders and history of violence, coupled with his financial constraints and age, rendered them incapable of caring for the forthcoming child. However, the medical board found that both the woman and the fetus are physically normal, and termination at this stage—over 20 weeks into the pregnancy—would only be considered under specific legal conditions.
The court also explored the woman’s personal life, acknowledging her relationship with a partner whom she wishes to marry. “Can parents take initiative and talk to this man… What you have said is that she wants to marry the man. It is not an offence. She is 27 years old. She should feel comfortable, not terrorized,” the justices remarked, advocating for her autonomy and personal happiness.
