A legal framework is being prepared to give women the right to decide on terminating the pregnancy by removing the fetuses in cases where there are fatal birth defects that cannot be cured by medical treatment, says the President of the Sri Lanka Community Medical Specialist Association, Dr. Kapila Jayaratne.
Participating in a discussion held at the Sri Lanka Medical Association Auditorium yesterday (03) to raise awareness among the media on the issue of global birth defects, Dr. Kapila Jayaratne stated this.
Under this proposed legal framework, a pregnant woman carrying a fetus with fatal birth defects will receive legal support to decide on the abortion of that fetus before the end of the 40-week pregnancy period, Mr. Kapila Jayaratne said.
He said that in some cases, babies with fatal birth defects only live a few hours after birth, and such babies have to be given space in the intensive care unit, and in such cases, resources may be diverted to another baby who has a chance of survival.