India: Karnataka HC Says Breast Feeding Is A Fundamental Right

The Karnataka High Court has declared that Breast Feeding is a Fundamental Right guaranteed under Right to Life as per Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Breastfeeding must be recognised as an inalienable right of the lactating mother under both local and international law. Similarly, the right of a suckling new-born to be breastfed must be merged with the fundamental rights of the mother. This was considered as an instance of concurrent rights, as this aspect of motherhood is protected within the umbrella of Fundamental Rights granted by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The court made this statement while hearing a very unusual case in which the biological mother of a child who had been abducted from the maternity home shortly after delivery had petitioned the court for the child's return from the foster mother.