Birth of a debate: The abortion dilemma

The Bombay High Court on Monday rejected Niketa and Harish Mehta’s plea to abort their 24-week-old foetus, which the doctors say may have a congenital heart defect. The Court ruled that a predicted disability is no ground for abortion.

The Mehtas argued that they believe they won’t be able to afford to care for the baby or endure the trauma, and, therefore, they should be allowed to terminate the life of their unborn baby.

But is abortion a matter of parental choice? CNN-IBN raised that question on its show Face the Nation. On the panel to discuss the issue were founders, Uday Foundation, Tulika and Rahul Verma; Convener, Disabled Rights Group, Javed Abidi; General Secretary, Society for the Right to Die with Dignity, Dr Surendra Dhelia; and Head of Foetal Medicine, Apollo, Dr Anita Kaul.

Show’s moderator Sagarika Ghose initiated the discussion by asking that if it’s the parents who are the primary care givers to a child and it’s them who’ll be traumatised if the child passes on because of the disability, why should they not be at liberty to decide whether they want to have the baby or not?

Javed Abidi said no one’s contesting the right of the parents. “The question is,” he said, “until when is it okay to terminate a pregnancy. Indian law does not law abortion after 20 weeks of conception. In Mehta’s case, the foetus is already 24 weeks old. So if we take a liberal stand on the issue today then what stops a parent tomorrow to abort a child just a day before the delivery, on the grounds of fear of disability or some other aspect such as the face or the skin of the child?”

Underscoring the fact that it is merely a possibility and not a certainty that the child will has a congenital disease, Abidi said, “I have seen many examples, where the doctors predicted a congenital defect but the child was born normal.” He added, “ Experts say that one in 10 child has a congenital heart issue. Are we trying to say that one tenth of our children should be killed because of that fear?”

Dr Anita Kaul, however, said that the question is not whether abortion should be allowed or not. “A 24-week-old foetus is born with signs of life; before that, it’s a still birth. Therefore, we are saying the parents should have a choice is up to 24 weeks.

Technology Vs Ethics

Strongly opposing the doctor’s point of view, Rahul Verma, father of a child with a congenital defect, said, “It’s not a matter of choice. We are not talking about choosing a car or a holiday spot. Citing the example of “miracle-child” Lakshmi, who was born with eight limbs, Rahul said, “We are talking about a life and that too the life of a human baby.”

Dr Surendra Dhelia, a general physician and a supporter of euthanasia, countered Rahul’s argument. He said, “In case the foetus is likely to be born with a deformity which is going to compromise with the quality of life of the foetus it’s better to terminate the pregnancy. “

Suggesting that Indian abortion laws are near-obsolete, he said, “The idea of 20 weeks goes back to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of 1971, when technology was not as developed as it is today. We did not have methods to detect problems and abortions were not as safe as they are today.”

Taking objection to the doctor’s stand, Abidi argued, “A seven-month-old foetus, according to me, is not a foetus but a child. So should anyone be given the choice to kill a child?”

Kaul argued that in case of a lethal abnormality, should parents just wait for the child to die. “Is that better?” she asked.

She clarified that no parent tells parents to kill their child. “What Nikita Mehta would have been told is that with congenital heart defect there’s a likelihood that the baby is gong to go into heart failure and may die.”

’Super Babies’

As a society, are we terrified of disability; terrified of less than normal children? Is it because of the success-oriented society we live in?

Dhelia replied, “In case a person has a terminal illness, and if he desires, he should be given a dignified, quick and certain death, rather than prolonging his agony. It’s extremely painful for the patients and their relatives to see the painful process of slow death. “

The law says that a foetus older than 20 weeks is as living as the child out of the womb. So should we kill the child or reform society and creates processes, homes and facilities where such children can be cared for?

“That would be the most ideal situation,” Kaul said, “but in India we don’t have that at all. In the West, there’s noted physicist Stephen Hawking, who’s disabled, speaks through a voice box and restricted to his wheel chair. But that’s one Stephen Hawking in the entire world as opposed to many handicapped children.”

So does it come down to how we view the disabled in India. Do we see feel that they are not supposed to be a part of society and that they must be cast out because we simply don’t have the facilities?

Lashing out against Kaul, Abidi said, “It doesn’t matter whether there are facilities or not. I’m a person with a congenital disability, so if the good doctor had a chance then in all likelihood I would not have been alive.”

Kaul was quick to defend. “No doctor, including myself, will ever tell a parent that this baby has a disability and you should terminate the pregnancy. My job is only to point out,” she said.

“But you’re sending a wrong signal to the society. It’s nothing but fear mongering,” Abidi said.

Financial constraints

Apart from emotional trauma attached with raising a child with congenital disorder, there are financial constraints too; Not everyone can afford expensive medical procedures. What recourse do such parents have?

Rahul said there are various organisations that provide financial help to such parents. “Various agencies, including our, are helping out such parents. Let us know how much money they require, we are willing to help. But the main thing is that parents need to be counselled,” he said.

Final/SMS poll results: Is abortion a matter of parental choice?

Yes: 79 per cent

No: 21 per cent

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