New Delhi:

The Supreme Court has placed on hold an order allowing the termination of a 26-week pregnancy after the government submitted a medical report indicating the foetus is “viable”, i.e., it shows signs of life and has a strong possibility of survival. The court, hearing a government plea to recall its order, said it wanted to hear from the woman before passing the new order.

The hearing is to resume at 2 pm.

The top court, which yesterday allowed the termination, was irked by the last-minute AIIMS report, and demanded to know why it had not been presented sooner. “Why only after our order? Why were they not candid earlier? Which court wants to stop a foetus with a heartbeat? Certainly not us, for heaven’s sake,” Justice Hima Kohli said.

On Tuesday, a different bench of the Supreme Court allowed the couple to abort their 26-week-old pregnancy after the petitioner argued that the woman, who is a mother of two children, is suffering from various health issues and from postnatal depression.

The woman said she is financially, emotionally and socially not in a position to raise a third child while she is already breastfeeding her second child.