The Maharashtra government introduced a much-awaited and talked about bill in the state assembly: the Maharashtra Regulation of the Use of Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1988.

Legal reforms have been at the centre of the agenda for strategizing gender justice in India. This has been so, right from the time of nine-teenth century social reforms movements, through the period of nationalist struggles, down to the contemporary women's movement.

The focus on mother and child health as a key element in Indian health policy evolved out of what was identified as one of the strongest explanatory factors for continued high fertility, viz., the high infant mortality rates.