India, Nov. 13 -- The right to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to term is "firmly rooted" in a woman's bodily autonomy, and forcing her to continue an unwanted pregnancy causes "visceral trauma", the Bombay High Court has observed while allowing a 17-year-old sexual assault survivor to terminate her 28-week pregnancy. The court emphasised that such a decision must also take into account the physical and mental transformation a woman's body undergoes during pregnancy.

A vacation bench of Justices Advait M Sethna and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale allowed the minor's plea on November 9, after personally interacting with her and considering a report submitted by a medical board constituted at Sir JJ Group of Hospitals. During the interaction...