A girl suffering from intellectual disability, serious enough so that she could not take care of herself became pregnant at the care home. By the time the pregnancy was discovered she was pregnant for over four months. The girl was admitted to a government hospital and assessed for MTP. The girl insisted- from the point of view of her limited understanding of the matter- that she wanted to keep the child and bring it up herself. Doctors at the hospital where she was admitted after the pregnancy was discovered were of the opinion that she was intellectually unfit to look after herself, what to say of a child. What should the doctors do?
a) Carry out MTP regardless of the girl’s wishes
b) Allow the pregnancy to continue possibly to the future detriment of the unborn baby.
c) Any other recourse such as going to court – but what if the court orders continuance of the pregnancy? Who will look after the baby?
Source
Smita N Deshpande
Head, Dept. of Psychiatry, De-addiction Services
PGIMER-Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital
Park Street, New Delhi
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