Reproductive Rights of Women with special reference to the State of Bihar

Reproductive rights are one of the critical rights for women today which assures them the right to take autonomous decisions regarding their own bodies. While this right is not expressly laid down in the Constitution, it has evolved through judicial primarily derived from Article 21 of the Indian constitution.. Bihar is a state with one of the highest fertility rates. It is one of the most populated and poor states of the country with poor facilities for maternal care including high incidence of anemia among women, as well as high rates of malnutrition and stunting in children. The recent NFHS- 5 data has shown improved parameters including greater using of contraception. However, the critical questions remains whether this has been an outcome of increased autonomy in women to take decisions with respect to their own body. This article finds that any such presumption based on this data may be doubtful given contradictory perspectives coming out of other studies which indicate a very low status of women in the society and indicates more towards women subordination than her empowerment.