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Flyers advertising illegal abortion clinics in Bloemfontein, South Africa. In Africa, abortion is subject to various national abortion laws. Most women in Africa live in countries with restrictive laws. Most countries in Africa are parties to the African Union's Maputo Protocol, the only international treaty that defines a right to abortion.
The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996 (Act No. 92 of 1996) is the law governing abortion in South Africa.It allows abortion on demand up to the twelfth week of pregnancy, under broadly specified circumstances from the thirteenth to the twentieth week, and only for serious medical reasons after the twentieth week.
In Zambia, abortion is legal if the pregnancy would threaten the mother's life or physical or mental health or those of existing children, or if it would cause a birth defect. Zambia has one of the most permissive abortion laws in Africa, though its restrictions limit access. The Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) Act, passed in 1972, legalizes ...
More than 20 countries across Africa have loosened restrictions on abortion in recent years, but experts say that like Efua, many women probably don't realize they are entitled to a legal abortion. And despite the expanded legality of the procedure in places like Ghana, Congo, Ethiopia and Mozambique, some doctors and nurses say they've become ...
When Efua, a 25-year-old fashion designer and single mother in Ghana, became pregnant last year, she sought an abortion at a health clinic but worried the procedure might be illegal. Health ...
Abortion was first legalised in South Africa under the Abortion and Sterilization Act, 1975 (Act No.2 of 1975). [8] This law stated that women could access pregnancy terminations if; continuing the pregnancy could be life-threatening or cause serious health issues, continuing the pregnancy could be of severe risk to the woman's mental health, the child is likely to be born with significant ...
In Senegal, abortion is illegal unless the life of the mother is in danger. Senegal is one of the only countries whose criminal code completely bans abortion. An exception requires a medical certificate and the approval of three doctors. Illegal abortion is punishable by fines and prison. Nearly all abortions in the country are unsafe.
In Gabon, abortion is only legal in the cases of risk to the mother's life, risk of birth defects, pregnancy from rape or incest, or if the mother is a minor in distress, up to ten weeks of pregnancy. Illegal abortions are punishable by prison or fines. Gabon has one of the highest rates of abortion in Sub-Saharan Africa.