BOTSWANA – In Botswana it is easier to have a back street abortion than to be treated for flu at Princes Marina Hospital
by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
Dec 6, 2018
For Pula 800 and a click of the mouse, Batswana women who wish to terminate unwanted pregnancies can have their wishes fulfilled in a few hours while influenza patients are still queuing to see a doctor, according to Sunday Standard investigations.
The right of women to terminate a pregnancy in Botswana has been the subject of political, medical, social and legal debate, but 18 years later it remains a criminal offence unless it is permitted under the Penal Code 1991, which permits abortion up to 16 weeks of pregnancy on grounds of rape, defilement or incest; if the pregnancy puts the life of the woman at risk or may cause harm to her physical or mental health; or the fetus would suffer or later develop physical or mental abnormality.