Recently, the Madras High Court established rules for the treatment, storage, and disposal of the “products of conception” that are left over after a minor’s pregnancy is ended.
Because such products of conception, which may include the aborted baby, can no longer be stored at a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), a bench of Justices N Anand Venkatesh and Sunder Mohan noted that they should never be sent to the underage victim or her family.
“In so far as the guidelines for handling the products of conception, we want to ensure that it never reaches the hands of the victim girl or her family,” the judge stated.
The Court was informed that, in most cases, if the foetus is less than 24 weeks old, the complete foetus is transferred to the relevant FSL for study following a medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) carried out by a minor.
The femur bone (thigh bone) alone is transferred to the FSL and the remaining products of conception are destroyed if the foetus is older than 24 weeks.
Notably, the Court noted that there was no protocol for what to do with the products of conception after the FSL analysis was completed in circumstances when the fetus was less than 24 weeks old.
The Court concluded that this may be the reason why these things are occasionally eventually given to the victim’s relatives.
“It cannot be preserved endlessly in the laboratory and there is no facility to preserve it either in the Hospitals or in the Police Stations or in the Courts. Therefore, there will be no meaning in keeping the products of conception endlessly. Probably that is the reason why it is being passed on from one authority to another and in some cases it even reaches the victim girl and her family,” the Court explained.
The Court has stated unequivocally that going forward, this kind of behavior must be avoided.
In conclusion, the Court established the following rules:
- In all cases, including those in which the foetus is younger than 24 weeks old, the sample sent for FSL analysis must be held by the lab exclusively until the conclusion of the legal matter.
- If the foetus is older than 24 weeks, only the femur bone should be sent for FSL analysis, and the remaining products of conception should be destroyed through biomedical waste vendors approved by the Pollution Control Board.
- Under no circumstances can samples given to the laboratory for analysis be turned over to the investigating officer or the court. Instead, it must be destroyed in accordance with protocol. Following the case’s conclusion, it will be destroyed and kept in the laboratory. Tamil Nadu as a whole has to issue and abide by a guideline in this regard.
In response to a request by Vidya Reddy of the Tulir Center for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse, the Court released the guidelines.
Reddy had brought up the fact that, in the lack of norms, the products of conception are occasionally given to the police, court, or victim’s family after undergoing FSL analysis.
The case before the court addressed more general concerns about criminal charges brought against teenage males for having consensual sexual relationships or for eloping with minor girls, as well as simplifying MTP cases involving child victims.
The Court has also given strong warnings regarding the necessity to keep underage victims’ identities secret when their pregnancies are terminated in the July 15 order.
