Madhya Pradesh High Court allows 52-year-old woman to undergo IVF

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has allowed a 52-year-old woman to undergo IVF at a recognised institution. It said medical fitness, not age alone, should decide access to motherhood.

In Short

• Court rules medical fitness over age limit under ART Act, 2021
• Couple lost their only son and sought another child
• Final IVF decision rests with hospital on medical grounds

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has allowed a 52-year-old woman to undergo in vitro fertilisation, holding that a medically fit woman cannot be denied motherhood solely because she has crossed the age prescribed under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021.

Justice Vishal Mishra passed the order on July 10 while allowing a petition filed by the woman and her husband. The court said the IVF procedure could be carried out at any recognised medical institution, though the final decision would remain with the hospital on medical grounds.

The couple approached the court after a hospital declined to carry out the procedure despite finding them medically fit following the required tests. Their only son had died of jaundice at the age of 21, and they wanted another child after being unable to conceive naturally.

The hospital cited the provisions of the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act, which prescribes the eligible age for women as above 21 years and below 50 years, and for men as above 21 years and below 55 years. The couple argued that they should not be deprived of the opportunity to become parents again because of a rigid interpretation of the law. During the hearing, they also submitted an affidavit undertaking to bear all medical risks associated with the procedure.

Allowing the plea, the court held that the law did not prescribe a joint age limit for a couple. It said that if a woman was medically capable of conceiving, the age limit alone could not become an impediment. The judge also made it clear that while the hospital would be free to take the final decision on medical grounds, the procedure could not be denied solely because the woman was 52 years old.

In its order, the high court said the couple could undergo IVF at any recognised medical institution, while reaffirming that medical fitness, and not age alone, would decide the issue in such a case.

- Ends