Pregnant Teen Denied Hospital Care Due to Lack of Police Report

Today, the Bombay High Court allowed a pregnant 17-year-old girl who had been turned away from other hospitals to get care at the government-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai.

In a high court appeal submitted by her mother, the girl claimed that hospitals had turned her away for treatment because she didn’t want to report a male she was seeing to the authorities.

The petition stated that the girl and boy, both of whom are 17 years old, had a consensual relationship. The girl’s basic rights as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution were allegedly violated by the plea’s rejection of medical care.

Purnima Kantharia, a government advocate, told Justices GS Kulkarni and Firdosh Pooniwalla on a division bench that the girl might receive care at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital. According to Mr Kantharia, the girl would have to file an emergency police report indicating that she did not want to file a criminal case against the male. The girl did not want an abortion, and the baby would be placed for adoption after birth, the petitioner’s attorney told the court.

According to the petition, she has been granted admission to a suburban Andheri shelter home for treatment and support both before and after her birth. The child must turn in her statement by Friday through her attorney in the form of an emergency police complaint, according to the bench’s decision.

The top court declared, “There is no harm in stating the police.” “The girl will be allowed to visit the JJ Hospital for medical care. The hospital dean is required to take all reasonable precautions to ensure that the case and the treatment received remain secret, the court declared. It said that the girl may be accepted for care and support at the shelter home named by the petitioner. “All of these must be given without requiring a police complaint. “This is a just ruling,” the bench declared, dismissing the petition.