India’s Catholic bishops have called for an urgent review of a Supreme Court ruling permitting the termination of a pregnancy at 30 weeks, saying the decision raises constitutional, medical, and ethical concerns.
In a statement, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) said it expressed “deepest dismay” over the ruling, which it said “raises fundamental questions regarding constitutional law, medical ethics, and the fundamental right to life of the unborn child.”
The case involves a 15-year-old girl whose pregnancy the court ordered terminated at 30 weeks, citing the difficulties of early motherhood.
The bishops said the directive “clearly contradicts the unanimous and categorical opinion of doctors and experts who have unequivocally stated that an abortion at this advanced stage is medically unacceptable.”
According to the CBCI, a medical commission had recommended postponing delivery for several weeks to allow for natural birth, describing it as a safer option for both the girl and the unborn child.
“This approach would significantly reduce the health risks for the minor and increase the likelihood of giving birth to a healthy child,” the statement said.
The bishops also noted that the state had expressed willingness to provide social and psychological support to the girl and facilitate adoption proceedings for the child.
Citing “established medical recommendations and ethical considerations,” the CBCI said a fetus is generally considered viable outside the womb from the 30th week of pregnancy onward.
“Ordering an intervention that could terminate such a life or cause serious harm raises grave concerns and violates Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life,” the statement said.
The bishops argued that the ruling appeared to go beyond India’s existing abortion law, which permits late-term abortion only in exceptional cases, including serious risk to the mother or severe fetal abnormalities.
“In the present case, the medical report indicates that continuing the pregnancy in the short term is safer and the fetus is healthy,” the bishops said. “This directive, therefore, appears to go beyond the scope of the existing legal framework.”
The CBCI also warned that the ruling places doctors in an ethical dilemma by compelling them to carry out a procedure contrary to their professional judgment.
“Such coercion,” the statement said, “could negatively impact the integrity of medical practice and the willingness of experts to provide independent opinions in court proceedings.”
Fr. Mathew Koyickal, deputy secretary-general of the CBCI and judicial vicar of the Archdiocese of Delhi, said the Church remains committed to supporting vulnerable persons, including minors facing crisis situations.
“The Church respects the dignity and well-being of every vulnerable person, including minors in crisis situations, with the utmost care and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to pastoral care, material and moral support,” he told Fides.
At the same time, Koyickal said “the minority of the biological parents can never, under any moral argument, constitute a valid justification for the deliberate termination of a child’s life at 30 weeks of gestation.”
He described authorizing or carrying out such an act as “murder.”
Koyickal also said “the 1971 Abortion Act must never be interpreted or applied as a license to destroy human life at 30 weeks of gestation.”
He added that “the protection of the unborn child is also clearly enshrined in the sacred scriptures of the Hindu tradition.”
The bishops called on the faithful “to stand up for the protection of unborn life, regardless of religion, language, or affiliation,” and urged state institutions to fulfill “their constitutional and moral obligation to protect every human life from conception.”
