Sri Lanka – End the silence on abortion law reform

Editorial
11 Feb 2026

Sri Lanka continues to live with one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, rooted in sections of the Penal Code enacted in 1883. This colonial-era law criminalises abortion in almost all circumstances, allowing it only when the life of the pregnant woman is at risk. Nearly 150 years later, the country is still governed by legal assumptions formed in a very different world. The cost of this inaction is borne by women and girl children, particularly survivors of rape, victims of incest, and those forced to carry pregnancies with fatal foetal abnormalities.

Calls to reform this law are not new, nor are they reckless. They have emerged repeatedly over decades, led by medical professionals, legal scholars and public health experts, who confront the human consequences of the law every day. Academic research published by the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka and scholars writing in local medical and legal journals consistently show that criminalisation does not prevent abortion. It only pushes it underground, increasing the risk of physical harm, psychological trauma and death.

Continued: https://www.themorning.lk/articles/EVIAFfyhzQpIICtfVhrp

11.02.2026

Editorial

abortion law reform

Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka

fatal foetal abnormality

Law Commission of Sri Lanka

maternal morbidity

maternal mortality

National Action Plan for Human Rights

The fight for abortion rights in Sri Lanka

A proposed amendment to the British colonial-era abortion laws is far too narrow

by Mia Abeyawardene, GroundViews
Posted 14 April 2025

In a country where abortion remains criminalised under colonial-era laws dating back to 1883, Sri Lanka has long denied women the fundamental right to make decisions about their own bodies. The recent proposal to amend these laws, allowing for pregnancy termination in cases of unviable fetal abnormalities, has been welcomed by many, including the Sri Lanka Safe Abortion Coalition (SLSAC). However, this limited reform is far from sufficient, and it exposes deeper systemic issues: the exclusion of women from decision making, the medicalisation of a fundamentally human rights issue and the persistent stigma and patriarchal control over women’s reproductive choices.

The SLSAC has cautiously welcomed the proposal, recognising it as a potential first step toward a more just and compassionate legal framework. Yet the coalition is clear in its stance: the proposed amendment is far too narrow. Limiting access to abortion solely on the grounds of fatal fetal abnormalities does not address the broader reality of why women seek abortions, including cases of rape, incest, lack of access to contraception, economic hardship or simply the choice not to continue a pregnancy.

Continued: https://groundviews.org/2025/04/14/the-fight-for-abortion-rights-in-sri-lanka/

New Fact Sheet Examines Sri Lanka Abortion Laws, Policies and Practices

Although the country criminalizes abortion, it is available clandestinely—and unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of maternal deaths.

July 11, 2024
Center for Reproductive Rights

Abortion in Sri Lanka is illegal except for the purpose of saving the life of the mother—resulting in unsafe abortions that place the health of pregnant people at risk. Despite those dangers, repeated attempts to amend Sri Lanka’s abortion laws have failed.

The Center for Reproductive Rights and its partner, the Centre for Equality and Justice (CEJ), recently developed a fact sheet examining Sri Lanka’s abortion laws, policies and practices and the impact of the current legal-policy framework on women and girls. It also outlines recommendations for reforming laws and policies to improve access to care.

Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/sri-lanka-abortion-laws-policies-practices-fact-sheet/

Gov minister highlights abortion rights, sex-ed for children, and Sri Lanka men killing their women

Monday December 4, 2023

Sri Lanka’s legislators have politicized the topics of rape and violence without addressing the elephant in the room, Jeevan Thondaman, Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development said in parliament on Monday (4).

“All the members here are talking about rape. What happens after that? We must talk about abortion rights. That is not something anyone wants to touch on, and that is why we are in this place right now,” Thondaman said.

Continued: https://economynext.com/gov-minister-highlights-abortion-rights-sex-ed-for-children-and-sri-lanka-men-killing-their-women-142598/

04.12.2023

Sri Lanka – Better family planning and counselling needed to reduce unsafe abortions: Local study

Dec 20, 2021
BY Ruwan Laknath Jayakody

Until the laws for the legalisation of abortion for more conditions are enacted in Sri Lanka, family planning services and counselling should be offered especially in pre-marital, pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy periods in order to reduce the number of unsafe abortions.

This recommendation was made in an original article on “Abortion and its legalisation: An overview of the opinion of doctors in the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila” which was authored by ….

Continued: https://www.nation.lk/online/better-family-planning-and-counselling-needed-to-reduce-unsafe-abortions-local-study-155590.html

20.12.2021

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News

family planning services

maternal mortality

R.P.A. Dinethri

World Health Organisation

Poor Access to Safe Abortions Is Killing South Asian Women

Even in countries where abortion is legal, access to safe abortions remains challenging

By Bansari Kamdar
June 15, 2021

One in every four maternal deaths around the world happens in South Asia. Lack of access to safe and legal abortions and contraceptives is a leading reason for the region’s high maternal mortality rate. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), less than half the abortions in South and Central Asia were safe.

In Bhutan, which has a 1.4 percent case fatality rate, one of the main reasons for maternal mortality is abortion complications. Section 146 of Bhutan’s Penal Code legalizes abortion only if it is to save the life of the woman, or if the pregnancy resulted from incest and rape or the mother is not of sound mental condition. Denied access to safe abortion, many Bhutanese women cross the border to neighboring India, where abortion, while legal on most grounds, remains dangerous.

Continued: https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/poor-access-to-safe-abortions-is-killing-south-asian-women/

Sri Lanka’s backstreet abortions: hundreds of women take daily risks with illegal terminations

Sri Lanka’s abortion laws are among the world's most restrictive, yet hundreds of women risk their lives every day with illegal terminations

By Meghan Davidson Ladly

5 August 2020

In an unassuming house in the Sri Lankan city of Negombo, Achala is bravely
breaking a taboo. With poise and calm the 36-year-old is talking about her
abortion, three years previously. While she is hardly alone in terminating a
pregnancy, few Sri Lankan women are willing to openly discuss their experiences
in a country where the issue remains legally and culturally off limits.

Sri Lanka’s abortion laws are among the most restrictive in the world and
attempts at legal reform are held up in parliament. Yet every day hundreds of
women are thought to obtain illegal abortions, risking their lives and
long-term health.

Continued: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/women-and-girls/sri-lankas-backstreet-abortions-hundreds-women-take-daily-risks/

Sri Lanka – FPA unveils book on sexual and reproductive health

FPA unveils book on sexual and reproductive health

Monday, 16 December 2019

The Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka (FPA Sri Lanka), the foremost Sri Lankan non-governmental organisation which deals with issues concerning family planning, sexual and reproductive health and welfare in the country, launched a book titled ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health Research in Sri Lanka: Current Status, Challenges and Directions (2010-2019)’ on 13 December at the FPA Sri Lanka Auditorium.

This is a milestone publication for FPA Sri Lanka, a prominent member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in South Asia as it has been a long-term institutional objective. It includes selected landmark abstracts presented and published by FPA Sri Lanka in national and international journals and conferences for the period 2010-2019. In addition, it also compiles several review articles by proficient authors with competence and experience in multifarious subject areas such as sexual and reproductive health, demography and sociology. A focus on data and evidence is particularly useful as it helps fill a void besides giving a much-needed fillip to evidence-based programming and service delivery.

Continued: http://www.ft.lk/news/FPA-unveils-book-on-sexual-and-reproductive-health/56-691652

Abortion – Where is Sri Lanka On The Spectrum?

Abortion – Where is Sri Lanka On The Spectrum?
“If you are not in favour of legal abortion, then you are in favour of illegal abortion” - Prof. Arulkumaran

Saira Meyler
on 09/02/2018

On October 28, 2012, Savita Halappanavar, a young Indian dentist, died in Ireland due to a septic miscarriage. This created major uproar in Ireland because she had requested an abortion at an earlier stage in the pregnancy but was denied her request because the medical team did not judge her life to be in danger (the law in Ireland was that an abortion could only be granted if the mother’s life was at risk). The campaign that followed culminated in a referendum in Ireland earlier this year, where nearly two in three Irish voters opted to change the current law. The referendum also saw the highest turnout for a ballot on social issues. The amendment that is currently being discussed will allow for terminations in the first 12 weeks of the pregnancy, and up to 24 weeks for exceptional circumstances.

In November 2012, former President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, was appointed by the Ireland Health Services as the Chair of a panel inquiry into the death of Savita Halappanavar. Arulkumaran recently visited Sri Lanka, and on August 9 spoke at a discussion on unsafe abortions, organised by the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka.

Continued: http://groundviews.org/2018/09/02/abortion-where-is-sri-lanka-on-the-spectrum/

02.09.2018

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News

abortion complications

abortion law reform

Bishop Winston Fernando

Cardinal Malcom Ranjith

Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe

Ermiza Tegal

Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka

Feminist Catholic Network

fetal personhood

illegal abortion methods

John Amaratunga

Justice Aluvihare Special Committee

Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane

Marie Stopes International

medical abortion

mifepristone

misoprostol

National Action Plan for Human Rights

Penal Code of 1883

President Maithripala Sirisena

Ranil Wickremesinghe

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Sabaratnam Arulkumaran

Savita Halappanavar

Sonali Gunasekera

Sri Lanka Medical Association

Catholic women’s group calls to legalize abortion in Sri Lanka

Catholic women's group calls to legalize abortion in Sri Lanka
Church demands govt dismiss bill to de-outlaw terminations in cases of rape, fetal impairment that threaten women's lives
Catholic women's group calls to legalize abortion in Sri Lanka

March 16, 2018

Some Catholic laywomen and doctors in Sri Lanka are demanding changes to the country's legal framework as they push to decriminalise abortion in the face of heavy opposition from local bishops.

The Feminist Catholic Network (FCN) recently signed a petition in support of proposed legal amendments that want to expand on current provisions in cases of rape, incest and serious fetal impairment.

Continued: https://www.ucanews.com/news/catholic-womens-group-calls-to-legalize-abortion-in-sri-lanka/81705