A legal framework is being drafted to allow women to terminate pregnancies in cases of fatal birth defects that cannot be medically treated or corrected, Ceylon Today reported.

Quoting Dr. Kapila Jayaratne, President of the College of Community Physicians, the report said that proposed regulations would provide legal backing for women to make this decision when lethal foetal abnormalities are detected during gestation.

Dr. Jayaratne had made these comments at a seminar by the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA).

Noting that some infants with such conditions survive only a few hours after birth, often requiring intensive care, Dr. Jayaratne said the resources could be allocated to other newborns with better survival prospects.

The initiative involves the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians, and the Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Under the proposed legal procedure, two medical specialists must confirm the severity of the condition, and terminations would be conducted in State-run hospitals. (Newswire)

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Colombo Additional Magistrate Pavithra Sanjeewani Pathiraja has ordered the arrest of a doctor accused of performing an illegal abortion at a private hospital in Colombo, Mawbima newspaper reported. 

The order follows an investigation by Dematagoda Police into allegations that a woman aborted a foetus older than seven weeks without her husband’s knowledge. 

The woman who allegedly aborted her foetus had been arrested after a complaint was lodged by her husband, a resident of Colombo 14.  

Previously court had ordered that all suspects involved in the case be arrested and produced before the court. 

The doctor who allegedly performed the abortion had received Rs. 30,500 for the procedure, the court was informed. 

Investigations into the incident are ongoing while the suspect woman has been remanded. (Newswire)

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