Reproductive Justice & the Law Clinic (2021-22)
In collaboration with CRR (Asia Team) and CommonHealth
In 2021, CJLS launched a pilot clinical project for a collaborative endeavour with three organisations working in the domain of sexual and reproductive health in India.
In its attempt to bridge the gap between activism and academia and develop a project in consultation with social movements, CJLS offered a one year long clinical course titled, Reproductive Justice and the Law Clinic in partnership with CRR (Asia Team) and CommonHealth.
This clinical project was designed to critically engage with feminisms, critique of regulation of family, gender and sexuality, global reproductive politics and reproductive justice. The course consistently promoted reflections by students on their privileges, as well as their larger role as law students and changemakers. As a part of the curriculum, the students at the Clinic were involved in preparing a comprehensive advocacy manual on the intersectional understanding of abortion-related legislations in India.
In particular, students examined the ways in which the MTP Act interacts with the POCSO Act, PCPNDT Act and the Right of Persons with Disability Act.
Consultations
The students at the Clinic held two consultations during which they presented their Advocacy Manual and received feedback from the collaborators, mutiple stakeholders, activists, scholars and CJLS faculty members. Read below for more details on the consultation and the manual.
National Consultation for an Advocacy Manual on Abortion
On 5 March, students at the Clinic held a preliminary consultations for their Advocacy Manual and received feedback from multiple stakeholders, activists, scholars and CJLS faculty members.
The students at the Clinic presented their revised manual for more extensive consultaiton on 26 March to receive feedback from multiple stakeholders, activists and scholars. The students received feedbacks and recommendations during the hybrid consultation, with some guests attending the consultation at the Jindal Global University campus and others joining via zoom from accrss India. Over 35+ stakeholders, activists and scholars joined the consultation held in hybrid mode.
The consultaiton demonstrated the complexities involved in analysing abortion access and highlighted the need for further discourse on abortion access from an intersectional lens. The Consultation also included a panel discussion on “Access to Abortion Through an Intersectional Lens,” moderated by Rupsa Mallik and Jyotsna Siddarth, Souvik Pyne and Shampa Sengupta joined us as panellists.
Guest Lectures
The Clinic hosted several guest lectures during this course including, Aroh Akunth, Sintu Bagui, Nitai Giri, Dr. Soma Roy, Jaya Sharma, Vqueeram, Dr. Aqsa Shaikh, Jyotsna Siddharth, and Gee Semmalar among others.
Events
The Law & Marginalisation Clinic at the Centre for Justice, Law and Society, Jindal Global Law School in collaboration with Sruti Disability Rights Centre, TransCare India, Rising Flame, The Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW), Center for Reproductive Rights, Transmen Collective and CommonHealth India collaboratively organised the Part I of the Symposium on Global Reproductive Politics, Reproductive Justice and Limitations of Law. The Symposium was composed of two panels with the esteemed academics and activists from across the globe. Panel 1 on Decriminalising Abortion: Towards a Rights-Based Approach and Panel 2 on Reproductive Justice: A Discourse in Centring Access.
11 May 2022
Symposium on Global Reproductive Politics, Reproductive Justice and Limitations of Law
30 November 2022
Launch of Factsheet - “The POCSO Act Adolescents’ Access to Abortion in India: Heightened Vulnerabilities, Health Risks, and Impact on their Rights”
The Law and Marginalisation Clinic, Centre for Justice, Law and Society (CJLS) at Jindal Global Law School in collaboration with the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), CommonHealth, YP Foundation, and Hidden Pockets released a factsheet titled “The POCSO Act & Adolescents’ Access to Abortion in India: Heightened Vulnerabilities, Health Risks, and Impact on their Rights” after the need for dissemination of legal information on adolescent sexuality was also highlighted during a consultation on the advocacy manual.
The collaborative advocacy manual on "Legal Regulation of Abortion in India: Complexities & Challenges," which was develped during this year long clinical course was released on May 12, 2023 at the Jindal International Academy, Taj Mansingh Hotel. Honorable Justice Gita Mittal unveiled the manual. The event also featured a panel with Vrinda Grover, Dhrubo Jyoti and Krishanu, moderated by Nidhi Goyal.
12 May 2023
Launch of the Advocacy Manual - “Legal Regulation of Abortion in India: Complexities and Challenges”
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