UP rape victim’s pregnancy terminated at Lucknow hospital, tissue preserved for investigation

LUCKNOW: The 22 weeks of pregnancy caused due to the rape of a 14-year-old Dalit girl from Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh was successfully terminated at Lucknow’s Queen Mary hospital (QMH) on Friday.
The high court had ordered for medical termination of the unwanted pregnancy earlier on September 14 to relieve the minor girl of lifelong mental torture and trauma.
The young girl will be under observation for the next 24 to 48 hours at the hospital, following which she will be discharged.
“The girl aborted the foetus late Thursday night after the medication which was given to her for the process following all safety protocols. On Friday morning, she expelled the tissue out of her body which was then handed over to the police as per the court order to preserve it,” informed QMH medical superintendent Dr SP Jaiswar.
The 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a relative, who is now in jail. However, she was unaware of her pregnancy and what was done to her, until she complained of stomach ache in August and was taken to a doctor.
Here, she was discovered 16 weeks pregnant and lawyers who took over her case approached the high court for pregnancy termination.
On September 14, the high court ordered the termination and asked for a medical board to ascertain the possibility of the process.
Examined by a team of doctors at the district women's hospital Lakhimpur Kheri on Tuesday, where she was found to be 22 weeks 3 days pregnant, and given the complication of her pregnancy, she was referred to Lucknow for further process of medical termination of pregnancy.
She was then admitted to QMH late on Tuesday night.
“The girl is doing fine and is relieved to have come out of the unwanted situation. She is comfortable and will be discharged by Saturday if her mental and physical health remains well,” added Dr Jaiswar.
“The girl has demonstrated extreme strength in these dire circumstances. We have collected clothing and food for the mother-daughter duo who are very financially unstable. Legal aspects of her case are also proceeding as per our expectations and we are hopeful that the culprit will not be out of jail and will be brought to justice,” said her lawyer Haider Rizvi.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)