PREGNANCY, BIRTH,

INFANTICIDE, ABORTION,
STERILITY, IMPOTENCY and
DOWRY DEATH

GROUP 11
PREGNANCY
• Pregnancy is the state of a woman who has within her body the
growing product of conception or a fecundated germ. It
commences from the time the egg cell is fertilized and terminates
at the time such product of conception is expelled or delivered.

• The average duration of pregnancy is 270 to 280 days from the

first day of the last menstruation.
PREGNANCY
• Why india has 16 million teenage
pregnancies ( between ages of 15 –
19) ?

• 11 percent of the world’s teenage

pregnancies happen in India
PREGNANCY
• Shocked ?
PREGNANCY
• In fact, India has one of the highest
rates of early marriage in the
world.
• The recent National Family Health
Survey (NFHS) estimates that 27
percent of girls in India are
married before their 18th birthday.
PREGNANCY
• Therefore, it is not surprising that
we have one of the world’s highest
numbers of teenage mothers, given
that in India, pregnancies occur in
the context of marriage.
PREGNANCY
• Legal Importance of the Study of
Pregnancy:
1. Pregnancy is a ground for the
suspension of the execution of the
death sentence in a woman:
Art. 83, Revised Penal Code
PREGNANCY
• Legal Importance of the Study of
Pregnancy:
2. A conceived child is capable of
receiving donation:
Art. 742, Civil Code
MEDICAL EVIDENCES OF PREGNANCY :

1. Presumptive or Probable Signs

and Symptoms

2. Positive Signs and Symptoms of

Pregnancy

3. Laboratory Test for Pregnancy

Presumptive or Probable Signs and Symptoms:
• Cessation of Menstruation
• Morning Sickness
• Changes in the Breast
• Progressive Enlargement of the Abdomen
• Changes in color of the vagina and softening of
the cervix
• Braxton-Hick's Sign
• Bladder Irritability
• Capricious Appetite
• abnormality in Pigmentation
• Easy Fatigability
Positive Signs and Symptoms of Pregnancy:

• Hearing of the Fetal Heart Sounds

(Mayor's Sign) - 120 to 140 beats per
minute
• Outlining of the Fetal Parts - By
palpation, we can determine the
head, neck, arm, back
and buttocks
Positive Signs and Symptoms of Pregnancy:

• Movement of the Fetus (Quickening) -

The movement of the fetus may be
felt by the woman and may be visible
to other observers. This is an
indisputable evidence of life, and is
observed at the fifth month of
pregnancy
Positive Signs and Symptoms of Pregnancy:
• X-ray Examination - Fetal skull and
vertebra are visible with x-ray
examination. This is positive at the fifth
month of pregnancy. X-ray is also
valuable to determine the presence of
plural pregnancy, malformation and
death of the fetus.
• However, this must not be used
injudiciously for diagnostic purpose
only on account of its bad effect on the
fetus.
Laboratory Test for Pregnancy:
A.Pregnancy Slide Test:
Principle — An agglutination-inhibition
reaction is used to demonstrate the
hormone human chorionic
gonadotropin (HCG) which is excreted
into the urine during pregnancy. HCG
which is chemically bound to latex
particles is agglutinated by HCG
antibodies in the presence of free HCG,
this reaction is inhibited because the
antibodies are neutralized.
Laboratory Test for Pregnancy:

• It is advisable to have controlled

urine from known positive or
negative subjects.

• If the result is doubtful, it is advisable

to repeat the test a few days later.
Laboratory Test for Pregnancy:

• B. Gravindex HCG Slide Test: \

The principle involved and procedure is

practically the same as the Pregnancy
Slide Test. Gravindex is merely a
trade name.
Signs of Pregnancy in the Dead
• 1.Presence of Ovum or Fetus:
Examination of the uterine content will
reveal the product of conception
together with the placenta, amniotic
fluid, and membrane.
• 2. Findings on the Uterus Itself:
There is thickening, increase in size and
capacity of the uterus. The mark of
placental attachment may be seen.
Signs of Pregnancy in the Dead
• 3. Corpus Luteum:
Corpus luteum may be well-developed
and attains a certain size, however, it
may gradually retrogress, but it is
usually well developed at the time of
delivery.
The changes in the corpus luteum may
also be found in fibroid tumor or other
pathological condition and even in cases
of congestion.
ABORTION:
• In the legal viewpoint, abortion is(the willful killing of the
fetus in the uterus, or violent expulsion of the fetus from
the maternal womb and which results to the death of the
fetus.
• Abortion in India is legal in certain circumstances. It can
be performed on various grounds until 20 weeks of
pregnancy. In exceptional cases, a court may allow a
termination after 20 weeks.
• Incidence: It is estimated that 15.6 million abortions take
place in India every year.
Clinical Types of Abortion:
• Missed Abortion - destroyed by hemorrhage
• Threatened Abortion - Hemorrhage without dilatation
of the internal os e.g., ectopic pregnancy, cervical
polyp, extensive erosion of the cervix, etc.
• Inevitable Abortion - Hemorrhage with dilatation of the
internal os and presence of rhythmical pain.
Hemorrhage and infection are the potential
complications.
Clinical Types of Abortion:
• Incomplete Abortion - Not all the product, of
conception has been expelled from the uterus;
fragments or portions of which is retained. This
will prevent contraction of the uterus and
consequently uncontrolled bleeding will develop.
• complete Abortion - The whole product of
conception is expelled.
Causes of Abortion:
1. Death of the fetus — Congenital abnormality, poisoning by
minerals like lead, disease of the decidua, chorion, placenta,
amnion, etc.
2. Abnormality of the uterus.
3. Emotional condition — Fright, grief and anger.
4. Abortificient drugs — Ergot, purgatives,
5. Trauma — Direct or indirect.
6. Hormonal deficiency.
7. Acute specific fever and high temperature.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971
provides the legal framework for making CAC services
available in India. Termination of pregnancy is permitted
for a broad range of conditions up to 20 weeks of gestation
• A woman who is unmarried and over 18 can legally
provide her own written consent to get an abortion. If a
woman is unmarried and under 18, she must provide
written consent from her guardian. In the absence of any
of these conditions or permissions, abortion is illegal in
India under the MTP Act, 1971.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
BIRTH:
• Situation in India An estimated 26 million
births take place in the country every year
A. STILL-BIRTH:
When the child has not breathed or has not
shown any sign of life after being completely
born.
B. LIVE-BIRTH:
In live-birth the child after birth exhibited
clear signs of vitality and viability is not
necessary. In law, the presumption is every
newborn child found dead was born dead.
BIRTH:
BIRTH:
• The enactment of the Registration of
Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (RBD
Act) was an important landmark,
which made the registration of births,
deaths and still births compulsory
across the country.
INFANTICIDE (Neonaticide)
• In India, more female is killed than male in first 3 day
• Infanticide is the killing of a child less than three days
old.
Art. 255, Revised Penal Code, Infanticide:
• The penalty provided for parricide in article 246 and
for murder in article 248 shall be imposed upon any
person who shall kill any child less than three days of
age
INFANTICIDE (Neonaticide)
Impotency:
• Impotency is the physical incapacity
of either sex to allow or grant to the
other legitimate sexual
gratification. A person may be
impotent but not sterile, or sterile
but not impotent although both
conditions may exist at the same
time.
Impotency:
• The Supreme Court of India
exercised its powers under Article
142 of the Constitution of India and
ruled in August 2012 that
marriages can be ended by mutual
consent before expiry of the cooling
period of six months stipulated in
the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
Sterility
• Sterility is the loss of power of
procreation and is absolutely
independent of whether or not
impotence is present. A man or a
woman may be sterile and yet not
impotent, and impotent yet not
sterile.
Dowry death
Dowry death
• Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 article 3
specifies that the penalty for giving or
taking dowry does not apply to
presents which are given at the time
of a marriage to the bride or
bridegroom, when no demand for
them have been made.
THANK YOU
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ATTENTION