“Reproductive choice is a fundamental right,” the Court reiterated, adding that denying relief would subject the minor to “irreversible consequences”.
In a hugely significant ruling on 24 April 2026, the Supreme Court of India allowed a 15-year-old girl to medically terminate her 31-week pregnancy. A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said that compelling the child to carry the pregnancy to term violated her fundamental rights and that a woman’s reproductive autonomy must be given the “highest importance”. The Court noted her psychological distress and the fact she had twice attempted to die by suicide, and said, “Forcing her to continue is a direct affront to her right to live with dignity.”
Also calling it a landmark judgment, India Law reported that the Supreme Court of India said that no woman can be forced to continue an unwanted pregnancy. The court clearly stated that a woman’s choice, health, and dignity come first.
The case was filed by the girl’s mother, who sought permission to terminate the pregnancy as it had crossed the legal limit under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. The pregnancy was a result of a consensual relationship between two minors, and the girl did not want to continue it.
The Supreme Court of India has delivered a landmark judgment by stating that a woman’s constitutional right to reproductive autonomy under Article 21 takes precedence over statutory restrictions under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (MTP Act), particularly in cases involving minors and unwanted pregnancies. The decision underscores that constitutional courts must prioritise the welfare and decisional autonomy of the pregnant woman over procedural limitations, even when statutory remedies are unavailable.
On Wednesday, 29 April, the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, a network of autonomous public medical universities in India, renowned for medical education, research, and healthcare services, filed a review petition to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the review petition filed by AIIMS against its direction to medically terminate a 15-year-old girl’s seven-month-old pregnancy.
Taking exception to the review petition, a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said: “It is strange that the review petitioner-All India Institute of Medical Sciences is not inclined to obey the order of the Supreme Court and instead, is assailing the order of this Court dated 24.04.2026 in order to defeat the constitutional rights of the minor daughter of the appellant herein.”
The Court had, on April 24, allowed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP), underscoring the reproductive autonomy of a woman. The bench had said that “the right to make decisions concerning one’s body particularly in matters of reproduction is an integral facet of personal liberty and privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution. The right cannot be rendered ineffective by imposing unreasonable restrictions especially in cases involving minors and unwanted pregnancies such as in the instant case.”
Highlighting “grave legal and ethical implications” in the matter, the review petition said, “the Medical Board has unambiguously opined that at the current stage of gestation, the termination of the pregnancy of Minor ‘N’ will not be a conventional abortion but will result in a preterm delivery of a viable fetus — one that has a fair chance of survival. The Court’s order proceeds on the premise of termination of pregnancy; however, the medical reality, as disclosed by the post-order assessment, is that a living, viable child will be prematurely delivered into the world.”
It added that the “Medical Board has specifically warned that the prematurely delivered neonate will require a prolonged stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with life and organ support, and that the child faces a high risk of significant and permanent long-term disabilities including blindness, deafness, and neuro-developmental delay. AIIMS would thus be knowingly delivering a fetus with a high chance of lifelong disability.”
SOURCES: NDTV, by Nupur Dogra, 24 April 2026; Supreme Court upholds right to abortion beyond MTP Limits. See India Law, “Choice of the Woman”: Supreme Court Rejects AIIMS Plea to Stop 15-Year-Old’s Late-Term Abortion.” 29 April 2026, and Indian Express, 29 April 2026.