New Delhi, Oct. 4 -- The Union government has told the Supreme Court that pregnant women above the age of 35 are more susceptible to a complicated pregnancy and risk of prenatal complications as it defended the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act, 1994, which provides limited grounds for pregnant women aged below 35 to undergo prenatal diagnostic tests.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) made the remarks in an affidavit filed on September 16, stating, "Medical researchers have found that women aged above 35 years are more susceptible to a complicated pregnancy and risk of prenatal complications as compared to those below the 35 years of age as they are at advanced maternal age."

The Centre's a...