ABORTION IS LEGAL IN ZAMBIA. BUT WOMEN ARE DYING BECAUSE THEY CANNOT ACCESS IT.
The law allows abortion on socioeconomic grounds. Women are still using sticks, herbs, and black market pills. Many are bleeding to death.
Zambia has one of the most progressive abortion laws in Africa. The Termination of Pregnancy Act allows abortion if the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life, physical or mental health, or those of existing children, or if it would cause a birth defect. In determining risk, the law allows consideration of the woman’s actual or reasonably foreseeable environment and her age.
On paper, you can get a legal abortion for socioeconomic reasons.
But in practice, women are still dying due to unsafe abortions.
At the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, 30 to 50 percent of beds in the Gynaecology emergency ward are occupied by patients with abortion related complications. 15 percent of uterine evacuations performed daily are a result of unsafe abortions.
Unsafe abortion remains among the top five causes of maternal deaths in Zambia.
In 2023, a study by the Zambia Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians found that 83.3 percent of the women who died from unsafe abortion were unemployed, and 55.6 percent came from rural areas. The majority were unmarried adolescents.
Women are using dangerous methods.
The Zambia Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians has documented the methods women us
· Sharp sticks
· Metals
· Traditional herbs
· Overdose pills
· Concoctions like tembushya
Women are inserting cassava sticks into their uteri. They are using unsafe drugs like chloroquine or quinine. They are bleeding to death. They are dying from infection. They are dying from sepsis.
A 2024 study found that 58 percent of women in Zambia oppose legal abortion across all scenarios, while 23 percent are advocates for legal protection and 19 percent support it only in cases of risk to the mother or fetus.
But opposition is not the only barrier.
What you should know:
If you are a woman in Zambia, you have the right to a legal abortion if the pregnancy threatens your physical or mental health. Your environment and age may be considered.
The bottom line.
Abortion is legal in Zambia. But Women are dying because they cannot access safe abortion. They are using sticks, herbs, and black market pills. They are bleeding to death as a result.
-Baby Doctor
Disclaimer:
This post is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice. It is not intended to promote or encourage abortion. If you or someone you know is in need of reproductive health services, please consult a qualified healthcare professional. The information contained in this post is based on publicly available research and is presented as a matter of public interest and advocacy for women’s health and safety.