The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi government to constitute an independent multidisciplinary Medical Board to decide, within four weeks, on parents’ request for a hysterectomy for their adult daughter with cerebral palsy, holding that disability alone can never be the only ground to deny reproductive autonomy and that its order is not an approval of the surgery.
The Karnataka High Court allowed hysterectomy for a 23-year-old woman with severe intellectual disabilities after finding she could not make an informed decision. Justice Suraj Govindaraj held that medical evidence showed the procedure was in her best interests, protecting her welfare, dignity and safety.
The Kerala High Court held that persons with Down Syndrome are entitled to protections under the National Trust Act and ruled that guardianship applications cannot be rejected merely because the condition is not expressly mentioned in the statute, granting relief to a father seeking guardianship of his daughter.
