The Supreme Court has rejected a married woman’s request to terminate her 26-week pregnancy. The court relied on a report by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences that said there is no abnormality in the child.

Pregnancy is 26 weeks and 5 days. Allowing termination of pregnancy will be a violation of Sections 3 and 5 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act as there is no immediate danger to the mother, and this is not a case of foetal abnormality,” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said. “We cannot stop the heartbeat,” the Chief Justice said.

In the last hearing, the petitioner had requested for permission to kill the child through a court order. A mother of two, the woman has said she is suffering from depression and is not in a position to raise a third child, emotionally or financially.