A Gujarat High Court judge made this point while hearing a juvenile rape victim's request for permission to end her pregnancy. She stated that it used to be common for girls to marry young and give birth before they reached 17.
During the hearing on Wednesday, Justice Samir Dave of the high court also brought up the Manusmriti and said that he might not grant the petition if both the girl and the unborn child were healthy.
The rape victim is 16 years and 11 months old and is expecting a child who will be born in seven months. Since the pregnancy had progressed past the 24-week mark, at which it is still legal to have an abortion, her father filed a petition with the HC asking for permission to do so.
On Wednesday, his attorney asked for a quick hearing, claiming the family was worried due to the girl's young age.We "live in the 21st century," Justice Dave stated, so there are worries."Check with your great-grandmother or mother. Girls used to give birth to their first child before turning 17 years old, and the legal marriage age was 14 to 15. Girls also reach adulthood earlier than boys do. You should read Manusmriti once, even if you don't read, he continued.
The court informed the lawyer that he spoke with experienced experts in his chambers because the expected delivery date is August 16. If the female or the unborn child have any major illnesses, the court may consider granting an abortion. It will be extremely difficult for the court to issue such an order if both are normal, the judge noted.
At last, the court ordered the medical head of Rajkot Civil Hospital to arrange for the girl to be examined by a team of physicians to see whether a medical abortion was recommended.The ossification test on the youngster and a psychiatrist's evaluation of the child's mental state were ordered by Justice Dave. He asked the hospital to submit its findings by June 15, the next hearing date.
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