By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi, May 2, 2026: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has voiced “deep anguish” over the Supreme Court’s directive permitting the termination of a 30-week pregnancy of a 15-year-old minor, calling it a violation of medical ethics and the constitutional right to life.
The order instructs the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to carry out the procedure, despite what CBCI described as “the unanimous and categorical opinion of the medical experts, who have clearly stated that termination at this advanced stage is not medically feasible.”
Medical specialists had recommended deferring delivery by a few weeks to allow a safer, natural birth. The State also offered to assume responsibility for the child, including adoption. CBCI said the court’s decision prioritizes “choice” over “well-established medical advice and ethical considerations.”
“At 30 weeks of gestation, a foetus is widely recognized as viable and capable of survival outside the womb,” the statement read. CBCI warned that directing a procedure that may end such life “raises serious concerns under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees the right to life.”
The bishops argued that patient autonomy cannot extend to “demanding a medically contraindicated and harmful procedure.” They cautioned that overriding expert opinion risks setting a precedent that undermines evidence-based judicial decisions.
CBCI also noted that the legal framework governing medical termination of pregnancy permits late-term procedures only under exceptional circumstances, such as grave risk to the mother or serious foetal abnormalities. In this case, medical opinion indicated the foetus was healthy and continuation of pregnancy safer.
The directive, the bishops said, places doctors in an “ethical dilemma” by compelling them to act against professional judgment. They urged reconsideration “to save the life of an innocent unborn, to uphold Constitutional principles, medical ethics, and the best interests of both the minor and the unborn child.”