-The Telegraph SC says meaning of ‘rape’ must be understood as including marital rape, solely for the purposes of the MTP Act The Supreme Court on Thursday declared that all women, married and unmarried, are entitled to safe and legal abortions till 24 weeks of gestation under India’s Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act, 2021. The apex court also held that the meanings of the expressions “sexual assault” and “rape” under the rules...

-Down to Earth The focus must be on safeguarding women and girls’ reproductive health. Smaller families can be achieved by ensuring gender equality, empowering women The law proposed by the Uttar Pradesh Law Commission on July 7, 2021 on two-child policy compels couples to limit their families through a series of incentives and disincentives. There is no evidence, however, that coercive policies can truly reduce fertility. Two-child policies are known to disproportionately impact...

-The Hindu What we have done so far, and what all remains to be done The global pandemic is marching on. As I had said at the JRD Tata Oration, hosted by the Population Foundation of India on its 50th anniversary, of the lessons I have learned over the last nine or 10 months, the most important one is the significance of investing in public health and primary healthcare. Countries that invested...

-The Hindu Domestic abuse among hurdles faced by them, says report A staggering 90% or 9.2 lakh women in India estimated to require abortion services could not access them between January and June because of the stringent COVID-19 lockdown. They are among the 13 lakh women who couldn’t get any kind of sexual and reproductive health services, many of whom were impeded because of domestic abuse, according to a report launched by Marie...

-The Indian Express A well-educated woman’s chances of making informed decisions and exercising greater agency in the household is monumental in breaking the cycle of poverty, ill health, as well as malnutrition. India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) stands at 122 as per the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin from last year — a significant decline from an MMR of 556 in 1990. A parallel decrease in the prevalence of child marriage...