Wed Jan 08 18:15:50 UTC 2025: ## Bombay High Court Challenges Denial of Motherhood Based on Intellectual Disability
**Mumbai, India –** The Bombay High Court raised serious questions Wednesday about the denial of motherhood to a woman with borderline intellectual disability. The court heard a petition filed by the 27-year-old woman’s father, seeking to terminate her 21-week pregnancy, citing her mental state and unmarried status. Despite the father’s claim, a medical board at JJ Hospital determined the woman is not mentally ill but has borderline intellectual disability with an IQ of 75.
The court highlighted the lack of psychological counselling or treatment for the woman despite her parents’ knowledge of her condition since 2011. While the medical board deemed the pregnancy medically viable and stated termination was possible, the judges questioned whether below-average intelligence should disqualify someone from motherhood.
“Just because she has below-average intelligence, does she have no right to be a mother?” the court asked, emphasizing that such a denial would be unlawful. The court noted that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act permits termination beyond 20 weeks only in cases of mental illness, a condition the woman does not meet.
The court further learned the woman has identified the father of the child and is in a relationship with him. The judges directed the parents to engage with the man, encouraging marriage as a possible solution. The matter has been adjourned until January 13. The court emphasized the parents’ responsibility to support their adopted daughter, urging them to act in her best interests.
First Piper 