Aishwarya Rathore –
Published On: September 20, 2021 at 12:40 IST
The Supreme Court issued Notice on a Writ Petition filed by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), which brought up the issue of COVID vaccination for pregnant and lactating women.
Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the DCPCR, submitted, “Since we’re dealing with a virus that we don’t know about, there is a need to conduct Scientific Research to see what the effects are on pregnant and lactating women. Furthermore, there is a need to create a registry to ensure continuous monitoring. “
A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna, in the light of the concerns raised by DCPCR, issued Notice to the Centre, and sought the assistance of the Solicitor General of India regarding the Operational Guidelines.
The Petition reads, “The exclusion of pregnant and lactating women from vaccination now falls foul of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Indian Constitution, as it constitutes unreasonable classification and is thus an arbitrary and discriminatory advisory which by denying vaccination to a class of women violates their right to life.
The Petition further stated, “This further threatens the life of newborn children and reproductive health of women, whose health is likely to be compromised due to the Respondent’s impugned advisory.”
The Petition also urged the installation of separate Vaccination Centres for pregnant women and lactating mothers in order to protect them.
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