The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed an unmarried woman to terminate her pregnancy at 24 weeks overruling the Delhi HC order stating that abortion<\/a> can not be denied merely because a woman is unmarried.<\/p>\n A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud observed that the Delhi High Court had an unduly restrictive view of the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules while refusing her to undergo an abortion.<\/p>\n The petitioner had challenged the High Court order which had not allowed her to terminate her pregnancy at 24 weeks. The 25-year-old, in her petition, said that it was difficult for her to feed the child, as her partner had refused to marry her. She said that she is one of five siblings and her parents are farmers.<\/p>\n A medical board will be comprised by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Delhi who will see if the pregnancy can be terminated without any threat to the woman\u2019s life.<\/p>\n The bench further stated that after the 2021 amendment, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act uses the word partner instead of husband in the explanation to Section 3, the court said that this shows the legislative intent to cover unmarried woman under the Act.<\/p>\n The bench observed that the parliamentary intent is not to confine the benefits to situations arising out of matrimonial relationships. It noted that a widow or a divorcee woman<\/a> is allowed to terminate the pregnancy at the term of 20-24 weeks.<\/p>\n