Eight in 10 citizens say that women should make their own decisions about the number and timing of children they want.

Rehan Visser
27 Jan 2026

Abortion is legal in Namibia under certain strict conditions. Under the Abortion and Sterilization Act of South Africa – an inheritance from the pre-independence regime – pregnancies may be terminated when they are the result of rape or incest, or if they represent a serious threat to the health of either the woman or the child. The relatively constricted environment for obtaining legal abortion has led to unsafe abortion practices and “baby dumping,” the abandonment of infants by those who are unable or unwilling to look after them (Legal Assistance Centre, 2020).

Legislative reform efforts have previously been countered by vociferous opposition from religious groups and conservative women’s organisations (HEARD, 2016). Recent events indicate that support for widening the scope of pregnancy termination may be on the rise: In 2020, a petition to increase access to abortion received more than 60,000 signatures (Legal Assistance Centre, 2020). 

Continued: https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad1121-namibians-see-abortion-as-justified-in-some-contexts-less-sure-about-sex-work-suicide-and-euthanasia/