They demanded her immediate deliverance from agony of foetus
New Delhi/Chandigarh: They are immune to the pangs of birthing but this one, of a pregnant 10 year old rape survivor, is beyond all bearing for them. Gynaecologists’ hearts ache for the hapless girl holding the burden of her uncle’s vice banging against her delicate pelvis.
The rape survivor has approached the Supreme Court, seeking permission to abort her 26-week old foetus plaintively pleading that her pelvis is unable to hold the baby. Whatever may be the apex court’s ruling, Gynaecologists across the country wanted her free from foetus forthwith.
Expressing outrage and anguish, obstetricians, gynaecologists and assisted birthing experts across the board empathised with girl’s misery. They demanded in unison that she must immediately be rescued from the fatal foetus.
The apex court on Monday (July 24) ordered setting up of a medical board which would establish magnitude of danger to her life due to labour or abortion. The girl is a resident of Chandigarh, allegedly raped and made pregnant by her own uncle.
This painful cause celebre has jolted the collective consciousness of the nation no end. Obstetricians, gynaecologists and IVF experts reacted with utmost indignation going way beyond the legal and health risk issues involved in this.
The president of Federation of Obstetric &Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), a professional organization representing practitioners of obstetrics and gynaecology, Dr. Rishma Pai dripped anguish while talking about the physical and mental trauma of the hapless girl. Talking to Medicare News from Mumbai on mobile phone, Dr (Mrs) Pai said, ‘The girl is really in a terrible predicament and needs immediate deliverance from the foetus wedged into her. Nothing could be more loathsome than the scenario in which an innocent girl has been shoved into.’
Dr(Mrs) Pai, a leading gynaecologist and IVF expert, further said, ‘The foetus has already taken a heavy toll on the girl. If she is goaded into carrying on the fetus, it would be unkindness perpetuated upon her. The entire community of obstetrician and gynaecologists feel this way. Not only immediate relief from the foetus but she must also be adequately rehabilitated.’
Dr. Archana Dhawan Bajaj, Gynaecologist and Obstetrician, Nurture IVF Centre, was visibly upset at the plight of the unfortunate girl. She seemed wet behind her eyes while expressing her anguish. Talking to Medicare News, Dr (Mrs) Bajaj, a leading IVF specialist, said, ‘It’s heart-wrenching indeed, seeing such young girls getting pregnant. We as birthing professionals are primed to see mature ladies bearing pain with fortitude and not to be jolted by it but this 10 year old girl’s misery has breached our pain threshold. I am feeling the prick in my conscience.’
Dr (Mrs) Bajaj said, ‘ A girl of 10 getting pregnant itself is a threat to life and a trauma hard to bear. It becomes worse if she is bearing a foetus due to rape; the trauma goes beyond all bearing.’
She added, ‘Talking only physically, the greatest danger is to the pelvic floor. Girls may start ovulating and menstruating as early as age 8 these days, though the average is around 12 to 13. The younger they are, more the traumas would be. Once menstruation starts, growth tends to slow in girls. The pelvic floor isn’t developed enough yet. And even if puberty onset is happening earlier, pelvises are not maturing any faster. Her life is for sure at higher risk and results might be more often than not horrific. Girls may labour for days; many of them die. The babies they bear often don’t survive labour either.’
The 46-year-old Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act does not allow a woman to abort if her pregnancy crosses 20 weeks.
