India Supreme Court reconsiders 2-child penalty laws after fertility drop
India's Supreme Court is rethinking laws that punish families for having more than two children, especially now that the country's fertility rate has dropped from 3 to 1.9.
Justice P.S. Narasimha pointed out these rules were made when overpopulation was a big worry, but things have changed: now the fertility rate would soon result in a demographic transition to an older population, and those old laws might not make sense anymore.
Supreme Court flags reproductive rights, candidacy
The court also flagged how these laws could hurt people's reproductive rights and even block them from running in elections, basically forcing a choice between family size and democracy.
The case is now headed to a bigger bench for a fresh look at whether the two-child rule should still decide who gets to participate in politics.