# Safe Abortion
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� Unwanted pregnancies have a profound effect on the lives of women and girls; their ability and right to make choices about their lives. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), safe abortions are one of the safest and simplest medical procedures in existence. Yet, with abortion mostly illegal and highly frowned upon in most Southern African countries, unsafe abortion accounts for 10% to 13% of maternal mortality in the region.
� In the Southern African attitudes survey, nearly half (45% women and 44% men) said they agreed or strongly agreed that a woman had a right to terminate her pregnancy within the first trimester. Attitudes towards abortion are changing!
� 28 September is International Safe Abortion Day. The day was first celebrated as a day of action for decriminalization of abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean in 1990. In 2011, the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) declared 28 September as an international day. The day’s name was changed to International Safe Abortion Day in 2015. 2016 was the biggest International Safe Abortion Day ever celebrated.1
� From 5 to 9 November, SADC senior officials and Ministers of Health will meet in Windhoek, Namibia to adopt the revised SADC SRHR Strategy 2019-2030 and its related score card.
� This takes place against the backdrop of the global #Women’sMarch; #MeToo; #TimesUp and related regional campaigns such as the #IWearWhatILike and #TotalShutdown.
� The 2018 SADC Gender Protocol Barometer put a spotlight on the inter-linked gender justice issues of our time including menstrual health, comprehensive sexual education, teenage pregnancies, safe abortion, maternal health, GBV, HIV and Aids, and sexual diversity.
� SAfAIDS, cluster lead of the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance, is leading the campaign for preventing unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. This is part of the SAfAIDS Transforming Lives – Time for Change, Time for Action campaign supported by Sweden. SAfAIDS calls for policy changes to enable women to make choices about their bodies.
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1Â Â Â Â https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Safe_Abortion_Day
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MAPPING OF ABORTION LAWS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
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Zimbabwe
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Termination of Pregnancy Act of
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If conception is deemed
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Only under circumstances where the life of the
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Where the child will suffer from
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A magistrate must grant
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Yes – In 2012, policy approved for women
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Zambia
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1977, Chapter 15: 104
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Termination of Pregnancy Act, 13 Â No October 1972
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unlawful (instances of rape). mother is in danger.
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✓ If the pregnancy will cause death.
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✓ Mental or physical damage to the woman.
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complications after birth.
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✓Child at risk of mental and physical deformities.
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permission.
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Once three medical practitioners have agreed.
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who undergo illegal abortions to receive medical post-abortion care without being referred to the police.
No
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Botswana
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Penal Code (Amendment) Act,  No
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✓Rape or incest.
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✓ If the mother’s life is at risk or may cause harm ✓Where a woman has been deemed
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✓ If the unborn child will suffer  Termination has to be                                                           No
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1991 – Section 160
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to her mentally.
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to be an idiot or an imbecile as per
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or later develop physical or  performed before 16
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Lesotho
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Mauritius
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The Penal Code (2010)6Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â No
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Criminal Code Amendment Act 20127
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✓ If pregnant due to incest or rape.
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✓To save the life of a pregnant woman.
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✓ To save the life of a pregnant woman; or from permanent physical damage.
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the Immorality Act of 1957, which makes sex with her illegal.
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mental abnormality.
✓ To prevent the birth of a child who will be seriously physically or mentally handicapped.
✓ If the foetus may suffer
severe malformation or abnormalities.
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weeks.5
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The pregnancy is within 14 weeks and the girl is younger than the age of 16.
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Performed by a registered        No medical professional, with the written opinion of another registered medical professional.
No
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Namibia
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Abortion and Sterilization Act 2 of  No
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Where two other medical
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✓The pregnancy poses a threat to the physical  ✓Where a woman has been deemed
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✓ The unborn child is at risk of
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Two medical practitioners must  No
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1975
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practitioners confirm that the woman has been raped or is a victim of incest.
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and mental health of the pregnant.
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to be an idiot or an imbecile as per the Immorality Act of 1957, which makes sex with her illegal.8
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a serious mental or physical deformity and handicap.
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approve in writing that the pregnancy is a risk.
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ABORTION ONLY AVAILABLE IN LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES
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Seychelles
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Tanzania
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Termination of Pregnancy Act,    No
2012
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Penal Code10
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When a woman’s life is deemed to be in danger
or if the cost of carrying the foetus is greater than the pregnant woman’s physical and mental health.
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Woman is at risk of death, pregnancy threatens
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Pregnancy threatens the mental and
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Termination can be carried out
if the child is at risk of serious mental and physical deformities.9
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If three medical practitioners     No
agree in good faith, termination can be undertaken at Victoria Hospital, Mahe.
No
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the mental and physical wellbeing of the woman. physical wellbeing of the pregnant
woman.
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eSwatini
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The Constitution
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Only possible where the life of the pregnant                                                                                                                                                                                                                    No
woman is in danger.11
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Malawi
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Angola
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Penal Code and The Law           No Commission of Malawi has drafted
the Termination of Pregnancy Bill to legalise safe abortion for women in the event of incest, rape or severe foetal abnormalities.12 Penal Code 201413
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Currently, Malawi only allows abortion to save a woman’s life.
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Termination only permissible to save the life of a
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No
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2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â http://www.parliament.gov.za/live/commonrepository/Processed/20140414/67169_1.pdf
3Â Â Â Â Â Â https://www.womenonwaves.org/en/page/5009/abortion-law-mozambique
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4Â Â Â Â Â Â http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/population/abortion/Zimbabwe.abo.html
5Â Â Â Â Â Â http://www.gov.bw/en/Citizens/Sub-Audiences/Women/Unsafe-Abortions/
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woman.
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https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population/abortion/BOTSWANA.abo.htm     http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=238601
6Â Â Â Â Â https://lesotholii.org/ls/legislation/num-act/6
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DRC
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The Constitution
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Abortion is illegal except in cases where a woman’s life is in danger.14
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7Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â https://srhr.org/abortion-policies/documents/countries/02-Mauritius-Criminal-Code-Amendment-Act-2012.pdf
8Â Â Â Â Â Â https://laws.parliament.na/cms_documents/abortion-and-sterilization-c5c7b99b28.pdf
9Â Â Â Â Â Â Â https://srhr.org/abortion-policies/documents/countries/01-Seychelles-Termination-of-Pregnancy-Act-2012.pdf
10  https://www.globalfinancingfacility.org/sites/gff_new/files/Tanzania_One_Plan_II.pdf                                                                          No
11Â Â Â Â http://srhr.org/abortion-policies/country/swaziland/
12Â Â Â Â Â Â http://www.satregional.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Age-of-consent-Malawi.pdf
13Â Â Â Â Â Â http://srhr.org/abortion-policies/documents/countries/01-Angola-Penal-Code-2014.pdf
14Â Â https://www.google.co.za/#safe=off&q=abortion+bill+1991+democratic+republic+of+Congo (UN Publication)
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ABORTION ILLEGAL UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES
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Madagascar
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Reproductive Health and Family
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Abortion under any
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In Criminal Procedure law, an abortion can be                                                                                                                                                                                                                              No
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Planning Law 2017
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circumstance remains illegal. performed to save the life of a woman.
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The mapping of laws shows that
� All SADC countries provide for abortion in some circumstances, but this ranges from South Africa and Mozambique, where abortion is available on demand, to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius and Namibia, where abortion is only available in certain circumstances; to Seychelles, Tanzania, eSwatini, Malawi, Angola and DRC where abortion is only available in extremely limited circumstances, to Madagascar, where abortion is almost totally outlawed.
� In South Africa, despite strong pro-abortion laws, access to the service remains a challenge, with only 7% of the country’s health facilities providing abortions.15 Research shows that many health workers refuse to perform the procedure, with government unable to do anything about it. Information about where and how to acquire the service remains limited.16
�In Lesotho, government acknowledges the devastating effects of illegal backyard abortions on girls and women but still will not relent to make abortion legal in the country. Instead, it surreptitiously advises women to go across the border into South Africa where abortion is legal. The irony is not lost on human rights lawyer Lineo Tsikoane, who has said of the Ministry of Health: “They know abortion is illegal, but they’re telling us to advise girls to go elsewhere, and [yet] won’t change our own law.â€
�The most common circumstances in which abortion is provided for are incest and rape; related to that, threat to the mother’s mental well-being. Evidence of possible child deformities may also be grounds for abortion.
� While allowing for abortion in limited circumstances, Zimbabwe passed
a law in 2012 that allows for post-abortion care. A much more cost
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HASHTAGS
#MyBodyMyChoice
#She Decides
#SheDecidesSADC
#RightbyHer
#SafeAbortion
#ReproductiveJustice
#AbortionIsLegalinSA
#NormaliseAbortion
#SafeAbortionsSavesLives
#OurBodiesOurFight
#Sept28
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effective option would be to provide for safe abortion.
� It is clear that many of the laws governing abortion in SADC are inherited from the colonial era and are out of sync with modern rights-based laws. For example the Abortion and Sterilization Act 2 of 1975 in Namibia dates back to 1975. One of the few grounds for abortion is where “a woman has been deemed to be an idiot or an imbecile as per the Immorality Act of 1957, which makes sex with her illegal.â€
� On 24 February 2018, Angola‘s parliament approved an amendment to the abortion law, making all abortions, without exception, illegal and punishable by between four to ten years’ imprisonment. This is part of the process of replacing Angola’s 1886 penal code. Parliamentary debate on the amendment stalled following a public outcry over it, leading to the ruling party proposing a revised version of the legal amendment. The revised version retained the legality of abortion in cases of rape or maternal health risk.17
� In December 2017, Madagascar passed the Reproductive Health and
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Family Planning Law after many years of advocacy to revoke colonial policy that prohibited promotion of contraception. The law recognises reproductive health and family planning as basic human rights for all, irrespective of age. It defines “counselling and family planning services for sexually active teens, married or unmarried†as one of the necessary reproductive health services. The law also provides for family planning education and outreach, community-based distribution of services, improved family planning technical capacity in health facilities, and availability of commodities, including emergency contraception.â€18 But parliament rejected efforts by the Ministry of Public Health to make amendments to the family planning law to allow for therapeutic abortion. As a result, abortion remains illegal in Madagascar under all circumstances, with virtually no exception.
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Increasingly, women have turned to social media, in particular Facebook, to look for illegal abortion services. This can lead to serious complications and death if they receive the service from unqualified people and in unhygienic conditions (CNN 2018).
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SIGN THE PETITION FOR SAFE ABORTION IN SADC
https://genderlinks.org.za/what-we-do/sadc-gender-protocol/advocacy/safe-abortion-campaign/
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SADC GENDER PROTOCOL ALLIANCE
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15 Â Skosana, I (2017), ‘Less than 7% of health facilities nationwide offer abortions – Amnesty International’, available at: http://bhekisisa.org/article/2017- 02-14-00-only-260-health-facilities-nationwide-offer-abortions-amnesty-international/ (accessed 11 June 2018)
16 Â Amnesty International (2018), Amnesty International Report 2017/2018, Amnesty International, London
17 Â The Citizen (2017), ‘Angola Backs Down on Total Abortion Ban’ available at https://citizen.co.za/news/news-africa/1542075/angola-backs-total- abortion-ban/ (accessed 1 April 2018)
18 Â https://medium.com/@FP2020Global_20685/madagascar-enacts-historic-family-planning-law-8ac7ab62e0ad. Accessed 20 June 2018
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