Population control bill of Uttar Pradesh (two-child norm): An answer to population explosion or birth of a new social problem?

Abstract

Recently, the Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) unveiled a draft bill of the UP Population Policy (2021–2030) on World Population Day to bring down the gross fertility rate and stabilization of the population. The history of the two-child norm in India has shown that different state governments had tried to implement it at different timelines during the past 20 years. Global evidence suggests that Vietnam and Bangladesh have stabilized their population and control birth rate despite not having two-child policies. Moreover, sex-selective abortion, preference for male children, denying the paternity of female children, pre-natal sex determination, and violence against women for giving birth to girl children will be on rise. Female literacy, empowerment, and addressing unmet needs of contraceptives are the time-tested solutions for population control rather than raising a new social problem with a “two-child policy” bill/act.

Keywords

• two-child norm
• population policy
• sex-selective abortion
• unmet needs of contraception