Nepal’s abortion law gaps draw global attention

At Women Deliver 2026, Nepal’s legal progress on reproductive rights was acknowledged—but weak implementation, legal contradictions, and social barriers drew sharp concern.

By REPUBLICA
May 1, 2026

MELBOURNE, May 1: Nepal’s abortion laws came under global scrutiny as rights advocates called for full decriminalization during the Women Deliver 2026 conference in Melbourne, held from April 27 to 30.

A Nepal-focused session on the final day spotlighted both the country’s progress and persistent gaps in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). While speakers acknowledged Nepal’s relatively progressive legal framework, they warned that weak implementation and conflicting laws continue to put women at risk.

Continued: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/nepals-abortion-law-gaps-draw-global-attention-12-10.html

Study highlights family planning’s role in reducing maternal deaths in Nepal

Khabarhub
May 1, 2026

KATHMANDU: A new study has suggested that increased use of family planning methods could reduce maternal mortality in Nepal by up to 30 percent, as the country continues to remain among nations with relatively high maternal death rates.

The study notes that at least 5 percent of maternal deaths in Nepal (based on 2021 data) are linked to unsafe abortion, indicating that improved access to contraception could significantly reduce preventable deaths.

Continued: https://english.khabarhub.com/2026/01/546682/

Global community urges Nepal to reform laws on abortion, child marriage

The call comes as Nepal reviews key recommendations received during the fourth cycle of the UPR, with a focus on legal identity, gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Nepali culture insights

By REPUBLICA
March 22, 2026

KATHMANDU: The international community has urged Nepal to reform laws ranging from abortion to child marriage and to strengthen implementation of its human rights commitments under the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

The call comes as Nepal reviews key recommendations received during the fourth cycle of the UPR, with a focus on legal identity, gender-based violence, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Continued : https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/global-community-urges-nepal-to-reform-laws-from-abortion-to-child-marriage-78-36.html

22.03.2026

News

abortion law reform

Binod Chandra Devkota

Forum for Women Law and Development

Meera Dhungana

Rojina Shrestha

United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review

Nepal – Amendment to abortion law imperative, as 52% abortions are still unsafe

The Rising Nepal
Sat, 14 March 2026

While the Constitution guarantees safe motherhood and reproductive health as fundamental rights for women, abortion is still viewed as a crime in many places. This mindset is having a direct impact on women, and adolescent girls.

Rina Sah, 30, (name changed) from Saptari district in Madhes Province, recently went through a painful experience.

Already a mother of two, Sah had no intention of conceiving again, but she became pregnant unintentionally. She realised that she was pregnant when the pregnancy had reached around two and a half months.

Continued: https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/77102

14.03.2026

News

abortion law reform

Forum for Women Law and Development

Nabin Kumar Shrestha

Rekha Jha

Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act

Nepal – Rights activists urge full decriminalisation of abortion

By Ram Kumar Kamat
Feb 16, 2026

KATHMANDU – Shradha Adhikari, who is a nurse with Sunaulo Parivar Nepal clinic in Kathmandu that provides reproductive health services, including safe abortion, feels pride for having an opportunity to providing safe abortion services to women and girls who would otherwise have opted for unsafe practices leading to risk of her life.

She, however, lives in constant fear of facing criminal cases for providing abortion service. Some of my friends, who have provided safe abortion services, have been asked to report to police or record their statement in the court and I always fear that I might face the same situation, Adhikari added.

Continued: https://thehimalayantimes.com/ampArticle/1036749

Experts Gather for Screening and Discussion of New Documentary on Abortion Reform in Nepal

Event in Kathmandu organized by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Nepal-based Forum for Women, Law and Development.

May 30, 2025

The Center for Reproductive Rights and the Nepal-based Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD) marked the release of a new documentary on Nepal abortion reform by hosting a screening and panel discussion in Kathmandu.

The documentary, Collective Voyage: A Tireless Journey for Ensuring the Right to Safe Abortion in Nepal, showcases Nepal’s remarkable 25-year journey from abortion as a crime to what is now a fundamental, constitutional right.

Continued; https://reproductiverights.org/documentary-launch-abortion-reform-nepal/

30.05.2025

Film, Art, Books

Anubha Rastogi

Center for Reproductive Rights

Clara Rita Padilla

Collective Voyage: A tireless journey for ensuring the right to safe abortion in Nepal

Dr. Gauri Pradhan

Forum for Women Law and Development

The Right to Abortion in Nepal: A Decades-Long Journey

New documentary showcases the progress of abortion from criminalization to a fundamental, constitutional right.

05.29.2025
Center for Reproductive Rights

Two decades ago in Nepal, a woman seeking an abortion would be denied care—and if she managed to obtain care outside the legal medical system, she’d likely be imprisoned. But today, the right to abortion is guaranteed in Nepal’s Constitution and legislation.

How was that progress accomplished?

Find out about the decades-long struggle for legal abortion protections in the new documentary Collective Voyage: A tireless journey for ensuring the right to safe abortion in Nepal. The film showcases how advocates, legal experts, health workers, policymakers, and others worked diligently over a 25-year period to ensure abortion became a fundamental human right for women in Nepal.

Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/nepal-documentary-abortion-rights/

29.05.2025

Film, Art, Books

abortion law reform

Center for Reproductive Rights

Collective Voyage: A tireless journey for ensuring the right to safe abortion in Nepal

Forum for Women Law and Development

Women Deliver calls for abortion within universal health coverage

By Sara Jerving
20 July 2023

Including abortion in universal health coverage was one of the main messages emerging from the Women Deliver conference this week in Kigali, Rwanda.

The conference, which ends Thursday, showcased stories of countries that have expanded access, and speakers called for abortion to be treated as a simple medical procedure.

Continued: https://www.devex.com/news/women-deliver-calls-for-abortion-within-universal-health-coverage-105934

Nepal – ‘Govt not serious about decriminalising abortion’

By Ram Kumar Kamat
Apr 03, 2022

KATHMANDU, APRIL 2 - Even one year after Nepal accepted the Human Rights Council's universal periodic review recommendation that it should decriminalise abortion, the government has not taken any concrete steps to amend the prevailing laws that criminalise abortion.

In 2018, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women Committee had also recommended that Nepal fully decriminalise abortion in all cases and legalise it at least in the cases of health complications of the mother.

Continued: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/govt-not-serious-about-decriminalising-abortion

Nepal – Call to provide reproductive rights services to women

By Himalayan News Service
Mar 06, 2022

Women rights activists have said that Nepal
needs to invest adequate resources to provide safe abortion services and other
reproductive rights services to women.

Addressing a programme 'F for Feminism' organised by Forum for Women, Law and
Development, Deputy Country Director of Ipas Nepal Jagadishwar Ghimire said it
was bizarre that even 20 years after safe abortion was legalised by the
country, 58 per cent women were undergoing unsafe abortion. "This means
that Nepal needs to overcome many challenges to enable women to enjoy their
reproductive rights guaranteed by the constitution,"

Continued: https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/call-to-provide-reproductive-rights-services-to-women