Women Advocate Group Applauds Landmark Ruling on Safe Abortions

December 18, 2024

HARARE – The Women and Law in Southern Africa (WILSA) has raised alarm over Zimbabwe’s high maternal mortality rates and complications from unsafe abortions, particularly among adolescents. The organisation has hailed a recent High Court ruling that effectively outlaws the prohibition of safe abortions, calling it a step forward in addressing these pressing issues.

Speaking at a media briefing in Harare on Tuesday, WILSA National Director Isheanesu Chirisa highlighted staggering statistics on unsafe abortions in the country. She revealed that studies from 2019 show that 219 abortions occur daily in Zimbabwe, with 80,000 abortions recorded that year.

Continued: https://www.thezimbabwemail.com/health/woemn-advocate-group-applauds-landmark-ruling-on-safe-abortions/

Zimbabwe – The dangers of selective abortion laws and the case for reform

December 17, 2024
Obey Sibanda

BUHLE, a 20-year old university student, finds herself in a desperate situation when she discovers she is pregnant. Fearing the consequences of her parents and friends finding out, she turns to a “friend of a friend” who claims to know how to perform an abortion.

The procedure is carried out in a cramped and unsanitary backyard shed. Buhle is given a concoction of unknown substances, and the “practitioner” attempts to perform a dilation and curettage (D&C) without proper equipment or anaesthesia. As soon as the procedure is over, Buhle begins to experience severe abdominal pain, heavy bleeding, and dizziness. She realises something has gone horribly wrong.

Continued: https://www.chronicle.co.zw/the-dangers-of-selective-abortion-laws-and-the-case-for-legal-reform/

17.12.2024

Commentary

1977 Termination of Pregnancy Act

Zimbabwe court rules against law that denies abortion to marital rape victims and girls below 18

Farai Mutsaka, The Associated Press
Dec. 3, 2024

HARARE, Zimbabwe - A law prohibiting abortion services for women raped by their husbands and girls under the age of 18 is unconstitutional, Zimbabwe’s High Court has ruled.

In his ruling handed down on Nov. 22 and made public this week, Judge Maxwell Takuva said since Zimbabwe’s laws already criminalize marital rape and sex with a minor, victims should be allowed to abort if they become pregnant.

The ruling is significant, given Zimbabwe’s restrictive abortion laws that often lead women and girls into illegal and unsafe backstreet abortions that in many cases turn fatal.

Continued: https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/zimbabwe-court-rules-against-law-that-denies-abortion-to-marital-rape-victims-and-girls-below-18-1.7131471

03.12.2024

News

rape and abortion

teenage pregnancies

Termination of Pregnancy Act

Health advocates in Africa worry Trump will reimpose abortion ‘gag rule’ governing US aid

Women's health advocates in Africa are worried that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will again invoke the so-called global gag rule, a policy that cuts off U.S. government funding for groups that offer abortion-related services

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press
November 19, 2024

EPWORTH, Zimbabwe -- Carrying her infant daughter, 19-year-old Sithulisiwe Moyo waited two hours to get birth-control pills from a tent pitched in a poor settlement on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.

The outreach clinic in Epworth provides Moyo with her best shot at achieving her dream of returning to school. “I am too young to be a baby-making machine," she said. "At least this clinic helps me avoid another pregnancy.”

But the free service funded by the U.S. government, the world’s largest health donor, might soon be unavailable.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/health-advocates-africa-worry-trump-reimpose-abortion-gag-116036473

Zimbabwe -Youths collaborate towards accessible reproductive healthcare

Health By Richard Farekaye
Sep 21, 2024

YOUTH-LED organisation My Age Zimbabwe on Wednesday hosted an Open House ahead of the International Safe Abortion Day commemorations, an event which brought together parliamentarians, stakeholders, young women, and girls, creating a platform for critical discussions on the milestones achieved and ongoing challenges regarding access to safe abortion services in Zimbabwe.

The International Safe abortion Day is an annual day of action commemorated annually on September 28 in support of the right to safe abortion.

Continued: https://www.newsday.co.zw/theindependent/amp/health/article/200032590/youths-collaborate-towards-accessible-reproductive-healthcare

21.09.2024

News

International Safe Abortion Day

Josiah Makombe

My Age Zimbabwe

Tendaishe Changamire

Termination of Pregnancy Act

Zimbabwe’s Review of Restrictive Abortion Laws

Activists are calling for a review of a decades-old abortion law to increase protections for women and girls

by Derick Matsengarwodzi
June 20, 2024

The Termination of Pregnancy Act (TOP Act), passed in 1977, has been increasingly attacked by human rights activists, victims, and legislators because it minimizes access to reproductive health for vulnerable women and girls in Zimbabwe.

Activists are calling for a review of the act and amendments to include rape within a marriage, access to safe abortion, and reproductive health.

Continued: https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/zimbabwes-review-restrictive-abortion-laws

Zimbabwe – Lawmaker pushes for easier access to safe abortion

Sikhumbuzo Moyo
June 3, 2024

HWANGE Central MP, Mr Daniel Molokele, ignited a fiery debate in Parliament last week over the country’s Termination of Pregnancy Act, enacted in 1977. Mr Molokele called for a complete repeal of the law, citing its violation of the Constitution’s promotion of gender equality and placing women in dangerous situations.

“We have a law called the Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1977. It is one of the oldest laws in this country that is long overdue. It does not need to be amended, it needs to be repealed. It is possibly violating the Constitution of this country in terms of the clauses that speak to the promotion of gender equality,” said Mr. Molokele.

Continued: https://www.chronicle.co.zw/lawmaker-pushes-for-easier-access-to-safe-abortion/#google_vignette

03.06.2024

News

1977 Termination of Pregnancy Act

Amend abortion laws: Experts

By Vanessa Gonye
Nov. 14, 2023

HEALTH experts have called for unsafe abortion to be considered a public health concern by amending laws on abortion. Zimbabwe records an estimated 80 000 unsafe abortions annually.

Speaking to NewsDay, My Age Zimbabwe director Onward Gibson said unsafe abortions were contributing to maternal deaths, infertility, among other health threats. “There is urgent need to improve access to comprehensive reproductive health services, including contraception, family planning, and comprehensive sexuality education, which can help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and subsequently lower the demand for abortions,” he said.

Continued: https://www.newsday.co.zw/theindependent/local-news/article/200019498/amend-abortion-laws-experts

14.11.2023

News

1977 Termination of Pregnancy Act

Community Working Group on Health

Zimbabwe – Cooperation needed in dealing with illegal abortions

9 Sep 2022

The illegal abortion services through online platforms should be put to a stop immediately and individuals behind the practice arrested and prosecuted.

this paper reported on Tuesday that while abortion is illegal in the country, the dodgy individuals demand up to US$100 for pills to induce termination of pregnancies with promises of further treatment to clean the womb.

Continued: https://www.chronicle.co.zw/comment-co-operation-needed-in-dealing-with-illegal-abortions/

09.09.2022

Mpilo Central Hospital

Zimbabwe – ZNFPC Lobbies For Review Of Termination Of Pregnancy Act

By Fadzai Ndangana
Nov 30, 2021

Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) is lobbying to change the terms of the Termination of Pregnancy Act to reduce maternal death caused by unsafe abortions.

Although Zimbabwe has achieved many public health successes in areas that were once deemed controversial and challenging, too many Zimbabwean women are still dying from one of the leading causes of maternal deaths, particularly unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://www.263chat.com/znfpc-lobbies-for-review-of-termination-of-pregnancy-act/

30.11.2021