New Delhi, June 23 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday set up a medical board of seven doctors of the government-owned SSKM Hospital in Calcutta to report on the health of a woman who wants to abort her 24-week foetus because it has severe abnormalities.

Indian law does not allow abortions after the 20th week.

A vacation bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and S.K. Kaul directed the medical board to submit its report by June 29.

The bench also noted a doctor’s report stating that a child born with such serious abnormalities may not survive even the first surgery.

After the woman petitioned the court for permission to abort the foetus, it had on June 21 sought responses from the Centre and the West Bengal government.

The matter will be heard again on June 23.

The petitioner has challenged the current abortion law dating back to 1971, on the grounds that technology has advanced a lot since then and it is “perfectly safe” for a woman to abort up to the 26th week and thereafter.

The petitioner said the determination of foetal abnormality in many cases can be done only after 20th week, and women who get reports of abnormalities after the legal abortion limit of 20 weeks have to suffer excruciating pain and agony because of the deliveries that they are forced to go through.

”The ceiling of 20 weeks is therefore arbitrary, harsh, discriminatory and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India,” she said.

She had claimed that during the examination of foetus on May 25, the abnormalities were detected including, a combination of four impairments in the heart.

By then, she had crossed the 20-week legal limit.