Blogs

Surrogacy Regulation Bill, 2019

Jan. 21, 2020 • Architi Batra

The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 was presented in the Lok Sabha to encourage altruistic

surrogacy. The administration asserts that managing surrogacy will stop uncontrolled

commercialization of the practice. The commercialization of surrogacy has left a number of

poor women who lend their womb, in a defenseless condition.

Finding A Middle Ground Between The Population Control Policies And the Reproductive Rights

Jan. 21, 2020 • Architi Batra

This article delves into finding a solution for the extraordinary rise in the population by balancing it with the reproductive rights of an individual.

The right to reproduction and Population Control Policies don't necessarily cause impediments for each other and the two concepts have their independent existence till the time the equilibrium is maintained. But, in recent times due to a rise in population at an extremely rapid rate has led to the question 'whether population control policies can be used to restrict reproductive rights'. This debate came to the forefront when the Uttarakhand High Court on 17 September 2019 in State of Uttarakhand v. Urmila Masih, set aside an order passed by a single judge of the High Court whereby a provision denying maternity leaves to female government servants having two or more living children was struck down as unconstitutional. The essential question that this judgement put forward is whether the judgement considering the current state of population explosion is justified or does it defeat the purpose of the legislation like the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 which were meant to preserve the private right of a person to reproduce and also provide with conducive terms of employment.