Explained: Can a pregnancy be ended after 24 weeks in India? What the law says, after the Kerala High Court’s order

The Kerala High Court has allowed a couple to hand over their baby to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) after birth, after a medical board advised against ending the pregnancy, which had crossed 33 weeks. The order by Justice Harisankar V Menon, reported on 27 October, has raised a common question: when can a pregnancy legally be ended in India, and what happens when the law’s time limits have passed?

What happened in the case? The couple went to court asking for permission to end the pregnancy after doctors found the foetus had skeletal dysplasia, a group of rare genetic conditions that affect how bones and cartilage grow. A medical board set up by the court found that the foetus had a non-lethal form of the condition and said there was no need for termination. It added that developmental delay could not be predicted without genetic testing.

The board suggested that if the couple did not want to keep the baby, the child could be handed over to the CWC. The couple then dropped the request to terminate and asked to surrender the baby after birth instead. The judge said that since the couple did not intend to keep the child, there was no need to medically end the pregnancy, and allowed the handover.

What are the time limits? Abortion in India is governed by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, which was amended in 2021. Under the amended law, a pregnancy can be ended up to 20 weeks on the opinion of one doctor, and between 20 and 24 weeks on the opinion of two doctors, but only for certain categories of women notified in the rules.

Who falls in those categories? The rules notified in 2021 cover survivors of sexual assault, rape or incest, minors, women whose marital status changes during the pregnancy (such as widowhood or divorce), women with major physical disabilities, mentally ill women, cases of foetal malformation, and women in humanitarian or disaster settings.

What about after 24 weeks? The amended Act removed the upper limit only in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities, and only after a state-level medical board diagnoses them. When a case falls outside these grounds, couples have often turned to the High Courts or the Supreme Court for permission. In this case, the court set up its own medical board to examine the foetus before deciding.

Why the board’s view mattered here: Because the board found the condition non-lethal and advised against termination past 33 weeks, the case did not fit the main ground the law allows after 24 weeks. The court’s answer was to let the couple give up the child after birth rather than end the pregnancy.

How does surrendering a child work? Section 35 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 allows a parent who, “for physical, emotional and social factors beyond their control, wishes to surrender a child” to produce the child before the CWC. After an inquiry and counselling, the parents sign a surrender deed. They then get two months to reconsider, during which a child below six is usually placed with a Specialised Adoption Agency.