State should take care of critically ill infant whom parents don't want: Bombay HC

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday said the state government will have to take responsibility of a day-old critically ill baby after his parents, who earlier sought for an abortion, expressed their unwillingness to take care of him. The couple in their plea said they were daily wage labourers and hence, would not be financially able to take care of the baby though they were inclined to have the child till they learnt that the foetus had brain abnormalities.

A vacation bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and N J Jamadar was hearing a petition filed last week by a 29-year- old woman and her live-in partner who then sought to abort her 28-week pregnancy after they learnt that the foetus had developed brain abnormalities.

The court last week directed experts from the state- run J J Hospital to examine the woman and submit a report.

However, when the petition was taken up for hearing on Monday, the couple's lawyer, Prosper D'Souza, informed the bench that the woman was admitted to the civic-run Sion Hospital here on Sunday where she delivered a male child.

D'Souza told the court the infant's health condition is critical and he is admitted to the neo-natal intensive care unit of the Sion hospital.

The judges noted that a previous judgment of a division bench of the high court said in cases where the child is born alive despite attempts at medical termination of pregnancy, the doctor and the hospital concerned will have to assume full responsibility to ensure the baby is offered the best medical treatment.

"The division bench judgment says in cases where the child is alive but in a critical condition and the parents are unwilling to take care of the child, then the state will have to take responsibility and bear expenses," Justice Dangre said.

The couple then sought to amend their petition and implead the Sion Hospital as a respondent so that a direction can be issued to its authorities to take care of the child and take further action as per procedures.

The bench has now posted the petition for further hearing on June 6.