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Medical Board To Decide If Pregnant 10-Year-Old Rape Survivor Can Undergo Abortion

The minor is said to be seriously ill.
Edgar Su / Reuters

A day after reports of the horrific case of rape of a 10-year-old child came to light after her mother discovered she was five months pregnant, a medical board is going to decided if the minor can undergo an abortion.

NDTV reported while termination of pregnancy is not allowed after 20 weeks, Rohtak's Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences will take a decision regarding the matter on Monday.

It was reported on Sunday that the girl's mother, who is a migrant labourer from Bihar who lives in Haryana's Rohtak district, discovered the child was pregnant when she took her to the doctor.

Reports suggested that the girl was repeatedly rape by her stepfather who is also her paternal uncle. The man has been arrested by the police.

In a report on Sunday, NDTV had said that the girl was critically ill.

The Medical Termination Of Pregnancy Act, 1971 states that if a pregnancy has not exceeded 20 weeks, on the opinion of two medical practitioners, the pregnancy can be terminated if it causes mental or physical harm to the baby or the mother. But after 20 weeks one has to take legal recourse.

The incident was reported close on the heels of a Dalit woman whose mutilated body was discovered on May 11 after she went missing on May 9. The 23-year-old was gangraped, tortured and murdered for refusing to marry the accused who she had also allegedly slapped.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.