Tuesday, 21 Jul 2026
The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy is deeply disappointed and dismayed by the five-year prison sentence imposed on a 21-year-old Indonesian woman in Sarawak after she attempted to end her pregnancy using misoprostol without medical supervision.
The reported circumstances are tragic. The pregnancy was already at 27 weeks, the child was delivered prematurely and died five days later. This makes the case different from an early medical abortion.
By YASMIN ABDUL LATIF
Wednesday, 08 Jul 2026
PETALING JAYA: Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Lim Hui Ying has clarified that her recent remarks in the Dewan Rakyat on abortion referred specifically to illegal abortion services, not procedures permitted under Malaysian law.
She said abortion is generally a criminal offence under Sections 312 to 316 of the Penal Code, but Malaysian law provides a clear exception under Section 312.
July 7, 2026
PETALING JAYA: Two NGOs have urged deputy women, family and community development minister Lim Hui Ying to issue a public clarification on the legal position of abortion in Malaysia.
In a joint statement, the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia and Women’s Aid Organisation said Lim’s remarks in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that abortion and clinics providing the service were prohibited in Malaysia were “factually and legally incorrect”.
“Statements made in Parliament carry weight,” they said in a statement endorsed by nine other organisations including SIS Forum (Malaysia) and Family Frontiers.
Dr SP Choong argues teen pregnancy data cited in a Ministry of Health report is misleading because it counts only hospital births, not abortions. He says the issue must also address access to safe, legal abortion and accurate information.
By CodeBlue
5 March 2026
I would like to comment on The Star‘s excellent and timely cover story on teen pregnancy, published on March 1, 2026. However, I must point out that the figures on teen pregnancies as quoted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) only indicate the number of teens delivering in hospital. They exclude those teens who have had their pregnancies terminated as they have no data on this.
As MOH hospital policy usually provide abortions where there is risk of severe medical complications, so most abortions are provided by the private sector, but the MOH does not collect this data, unlike most other countries. Therefore, the figures can only be estimates.
The Galen Centre calls for law reform, after a Melaka court sentenced a 21-year-old woman to jail for self-managed abortion. Abortion has been lawful in Malaysia since 1989 when Section 312 of the Penal Code was amended to allow termination of pregnancy.
By Azrul Mohd Khalib
23 May 2025
The recent nine-month custodial sentence imposed by the Ayer Keroh Magistrate’s Court on a young woman who ended a five-month pregnancy with medication obtained online, highlights the urgent need to modernise laws that continue to criminalise women while failing to address the root causes of unplanned pregnancies.
No woman or girl should face prison for exercising autonomy over her body. Malaysia’s Penal Code still contains provisions dating back from and written in the 19th century. They do not reflect current medical practice, World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, human-rights standards, or the realities faced by women, especially young women, the poor and the unmarried.
November 10, 2024
KUCHING, Nov 10 — Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri today emphasised growing concerns over rising cases of teen pregnancies, underage marriage, baby abandonment, and unsafe abortion.
Citing data from the Health Ministry, she noted that 44,263 teen pregnancies were recorded over the past five years, 17,646 involving unmarried teens. “From 2019 to 2023, Sarawak alone registered 9,258 teen pregnancies, of which 5,627 were among unmarried teens.
O&G specialist Dr Jamiyah Hassan describes abortion laws in Malaysia as generally grey.
By Alifah Zainuddin
12 October 2022
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 – Contrary to popular belief, termination of pregnancy or abortion has been legal in Malaysia for nearly half a decade, which has kept the number of unsafe abortions “low” in the country, according to an obstetrician and gynaecologist.
Abortion in Malaysia is generally governed by Section 312 of the Penal Code, where the law provides for safe abortion to save a woman’s life and to preserve a woman’s physical and mental health, said Prof Dr Jamiyah Hassan from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) at a recent conference.
Continued: https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2022/10/12/doctor-clarifies-abortion-is-legal-in-malaysia/
Athira Nortajuddin
15 March 2021
Just last year when over half of humanity was confined to their homes due to COVID-19 preventive measures, Karex, a Malaysian contraceptives manufacturer predicted a global condom shortage as the pandemic shuttered factories and disrupted supply chains.
This came as Malaysia, one of the world’s top rubber producers and a major source of condoms, imposed a nationwide lockdown – known locally as the Movement Control Order (MCO). The MCO was implemented sometime in mid-March 2020 for several months.
Continued: https://theaseanpost.com/article/less-contraception-use-pandemic
Federation of Reproductive Health Associations Malaysia
Published 9 Sep 2020
LETTER | We, leaders and representatives of civil society organisations, professional societies, scientific associations, faith-based organisations, government agencies and departments, private for-profit entities, non-governmental, non-profit organisations, and citizens of Malaysia, are united to reduce unintended adolescent pregnancies in Malaysia.
We desire a society where every person below 18 years of age enjoys health and well-being, is treated with love and respect, and is capable of realising their fullest potential. However, we are concerned with the reported rising rate of unprotected adolescent sexual activity, of which the health and social impacts include unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortion or miscarriages, disrupted education, child marriage, social stigma, and further victimisation.
Continued: https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/542003
ASEAN Underground Abortion
Athira Nortajuddin
6 July 2020
Abortion is an extremely taboo topic in some parts of conservative Southeast
Asia.
ASEAN member states such as the Philippines and Lao do not permit abortion.
Whereas Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand only allow abortion if a medical
practitioner deems that continuing the pregnancy poses a danger to the mother’s
life and health.
Continued: https://theaseanpost.com/article/asean-underground-abortion
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