This research explores how the rural-urban divide in India affects women’s ability to exercise reproductive autonomy, with the theory of reproductive justice serving as the overarching framework. Based on the NFHS-6 dataset, the research analyzes the rural-urban inequalities that exist in education, internet access, age at marriage, teenage pregnancy, number of children, unmet need for family planning, and antenatal care among women in India. By bringing together reproductive justice theory and theories of space, this research develops a theory of spatial reproductive justice that is specific to the Indian context, where geography is not merely seen as a neutral backdrop but as something actively produced by uneven infrastructure, institutions, social relations, and power. The research further argues that rural disadvantage operates in many intersecting spheres at the same time, and the mere fact of availability of formal reproductive rights and service provision is not enough. Reproductive freedom is contingent on equitable access to information, mobility, infrastructure, and education. The use of a spatial reproductive justice perspective shifts the question of access to a service into one of conditions necessary for rural women to avail the service.
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