Consortium Pushes to Pass Termination of Pregnancy Bill Amid Alarming Unsafe Abortion Rates
The bill has stalled for over five years amid opposition from religious and traditional leaders.
MZIMBA, Malawi- A consortium of human rights groups is urgently calling for Malawi to pass a long-delayed termination of pregnancy bill as health authorities recorded 238 cases of women suffering complications from unsafe abortions in just the first three months of this year in Mzimba district alone, writes Victoria Yande.
The alarming statistic from Mzimba South District Hospital, where over 1,100 such cases were treated in all of 2022, has prompted the Malawi Human Rights Resource Center, Center for Solution Journalism, Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, and SRHR Alliance under COPUA to intensify advocacy efforts.
"The issue of abortion is a great challenge in Mzimba," said Gracious Masewo, the hospital's post-abortion care coordinator.
"Most women are having pregnancies without the knowledge of their spouses who are working in South Africa and stay there long periods of time."
The four organizations' "Breaking Barriers" project, funded by Amplify Change, aims to protect women from health hazards caused by backstreet abortions, which can lead to complications and death.
They have engaged traditional leaders to lobby parliamentarians on passing the Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) bill.
"We are all aware there is so much resistance to open up to medical abortion which would be a better way to curb backstreet abortion," said Emma Kaliya, MHRRC's executive director.
"Hence we have gone out to people to start understanding the Termination of Pregnancy bill and that they should talk to their MPs to debate and pass it into law."
Inkosi Mabulabo, a local traditional leader, described the rates as "alarming" and "worrisome," especially among young women aged 15-35 who could be future leaders and are critical for the country's development.
"That's why we want traditional leaders to take a leading role in sensitizing subjects on the importance of the TOP Bill," Mabulabo said.
If passed, he said it would allow women to access safe abortions in cases like rape, incest, fetal abnormalities or health risks.
Abortion is currently illegal in the socially conservative nation except to save a woman's life.
But an estimated 141,000 unsafe abortions occurred in 2015, according to U.S. health authorities, contributing to Malawi's high maternal mortality.
The bill has stalled for over five years amid opposition from religious and traditional leaders.
But rights groups say its passage is crucial for women's health given Malawi's limited family planning and high gender-based violence.