NAMHHR v. Chhattisgarh

The Asia program’s new fact sheet features a groundbreaking reproductive rights case, NAMHHR v. Chhattisgarh, which was filed before the High Court of Chhattisgarh in June 2014 by the National Alliance for Maternal Health and Human Rights, with legal representation provided by Advocate Anubha Rastogi. The case claims that the state of Chhattisgarh has failed to successfully implement the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP Act) of 1971 and to fully utilize funds distributed by the central government to increase access to family planning and maternal health services. As a consequence, women in Chhattisgarh are vulnerable to negative reproductive outcomes including unmet contraceptive needs, unwanted pregnancy, and unsafe abortion procedures. The petition asks the High Court of Chhattisgarh to instruct the state to fully implement the MTP Act and to provide funding to adequately equip MTP centers in rural areas. This is the third case filed under the Center’s South Asia Reproductive Justice and Accountability Initiative (SARJAI), a program created by lawyers to promote legal accountability for violations of women’s reproductive rights in South Asia.