For any newly married couple or young parents, contraception plays a crucial role in family planning. When it comes to family planning, most contraceptive methods are designed for women, and it is usually the woman who must choose a suitable option in consultation with her husband and healthcare provider, depending on her health and comfort. For parents, it is important to plan and maintain a healthy interval between pregnancies, and for this, they must be properly counselled by healthcare providers about the different contraceptive options available, so they can choose what best suits their needs and health. But imagine waking up after childbirth or a medical procedure, only to discover that a device has been placed inside your body without your knowledge or consent. For many women across India, this is not a hypothetical scenario; it is a shocking reality.
Recently, a case from Delhi has once again raised questions about women’s reproductive autonomy and the coercive practices in government hospitals, often driven by the pressure to meet family planning targets. In September 2025, a new mother who delivered her baby at Kasturba Hospital was shocked to discover a foreign thread protruding from her body — later identified as a Copper-T intrauterine device (IUD). She alleged that the device had been inserted without her knowledge, counselling, or informed consent. When she sought clarification and assistance, the hospital reportedly provided evasive answers, bringing national attention to the ongoing issues of consent, institutional targets, and reproductive rights.
A few years ago, a similar case emerged from Madurai, where a woman delivering at the Government Rajaji Hospital reported that a Copper-T IUD had been inserted without her knowledge or consent.
These incidents highlight a disturbing reality: the insertion of Copper-T devices without informed consent serves as a stark reminder that women’s bodies are too often treated as instruments of public policy rather than as autonomous beings, even within the very institutions entrusted to protect their health and dignity.
The Copper-T is a small, T-shaped device used for long-term contraception. It is effective, affordable, and often part of government family planning programmes. But what happens when a health initiative crosses the thin line between empowerment and coercion?
It is not just Copper-T insertions; numerous cases have been reported where women have alleged that doctors administered contraceptive injections immediately after childbirth without their knowledge or consent, and sometimes even that sterilisation (tubectomy) is carried out immediately after the birth of a child without the woman’s consent. Such practices reveal a disturbing reality: women’s reproductive bodies are often treated as tools to meet institutional targets, rather than respected as autonomous individuals with the right to make informed choices about their own health. They reflect a deeply ingrained medical patriarchy, where the woman’s right to choose is quietly replaced by the system’s decision to act on her behalf.
Every medical procedure, however minor, requires informed consent. The right to bodily autonomy is not just a medical ethic; it is a fundamental human right. Under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, every individual has the right to life and personal liberty, a right that includes making decisions about one’s own body and reproductive health. When hospitals insert contraceptives without consent, they violate:
• A woman’s right to privacy and dignity.
• The National Medical Commission (formerly Indian Medical Council) Code of Ethics Regulations which mandates that registered medical practitioners must obtain documented, informed consent from patients before performing procedures, tests, or operations. This consent must be informed, meaning the patient receives sufficient information about the procedure’s purpose, risks, and alternatives to make a knowledgeable decision, and it is often required in writing.
• International human rights norms, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
This isn’t healthcare, it’s reproductive coercion.
At the root of this issue lies a harsh reality: targets. In many public hospitals, doctors and nurses face pressure to meet family planning quotas. The state’s goal of population control often outweighs the woman’s right to choose. This transforms healthcare workers into agents of coercion, not always by intent but by institutional design. The system rewards numbers, not consent.
India became the first country in the world to introduce a National Family Planning Programme in 1951. The programme was designed to reduce the national birth rate and stabilise the population at a level considered beneficial for the country’s economic growth. Since its inception, it has been pursued by the Government of India as a key national priority and implemented as a fully centrally sponsored scheme. Over the years, this programme has sometimes relied on coercive measures, including mass sterilisation camps, where individuals—often from vulnerable communities—were pressured or incentivised to undergo sterilisation to meet population control targets. Interestingly, many people are unaware that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, was also introduced in alignment with India’s family planning objectives, highlighting how reproductive policies have long been intertwined with national population goals.
Even though India is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), it is not supposed to use family planning programmes as a coercive measure. Yet, from the very beginning and continuing to this day, India’s family planning initiatives have often been implemented coercively, targeting women’s bodies rather than respecting their autonomy and reproductive rights.
In this context, the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) judgment is especially relevant. The Supreme Court recognised that the right to privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21, and that decisions about one’s body, health, and reproductive choices fall within this constitutional protection. This means that any medical procedure, including contraceptive insertions, must be voluntary and based on informed consent. Yet, cases like those in Delhi and Madurai show that these legal protections are frequently violated.
The Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) has also documented numerous instances of sterilisation without informed consent, notably through the Devika Biswas v. Union of India (2012) case before the Supreme Court. These reports highlighted widespread negligence, human rights violations, and the targeting of vulnerable women in government-organised sterilisation camps. The Court ruled that such practices violated women’s right to health and reproductive autonomy, directing the government to phase out coercive sterilisation camps and ensure that all reproductive procedures respect women’s consent and rights.
Together, these cases illustrate the continuing tension between policy targets and women’s reproductive rights in India. Family planning can play a vital role in maternal and child health, but when it is implemented coercively, it erodes trust in the healthcare system and violates constitutional protections.
It is imperative that India adopts rights-based reproductive policies, strengthens consent protocols, and ensures independent monitoring of hospitals. Women must have the freedom to make informed choices about their own bodies, free from coercion, pressure, or targets. Until then, incidents like these will continue to remind the nation that reproductive health is a right, not a tool for population control.
It is high time for the Indian government to prioritise education about the importance of contraception — not only for population control but also for the health and well-being of mothers and children. This is especially crucial in rural areas, where the majority of India’s population resides and awareness about reproductive health remains limited. The government should launch programmes through Anganwadi centres, using medical camps, workshops, and awareness drives to educate communities about family planning and reproductive rights. Importantly, such initiatives must be voluntary and respectful of women’s choices, not coercive or forceful.
Strict action must be taken against healthcare providers who violate women’s reproductive rights. The right to access sexual and reproductive health education and family planning information is an essential component of reproductive rights. Any violation of this right constitutes a breach of women’s autonomy and dignity. It is therefore crucial for healthcare providers to ensure that these rights are respected, offering proper counselling and guidance while avoiding coercive practices in family planning and reproductive health services.
(Pyali Chatterjee is an associate professor and head of the Faculty of Law, ICFAI University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh)
