Law Commission for liberalisation of abortion laws
The Law Commission has recommended a broader array of grounds where women can seek medical assistance to terminate unwanted pregnancies.
Government in 2012 constituted a special law commission to review abortion laws, particularly Sections
149, 150, 151 and 243 of the Penal Code, which activists criticise as restrictive.
But recommendations unveiled during the ongoing consultations in Mzuzu show the commission resolved to limit women’s liberty to seek abortion in health facilities after meeting eight times and visiting Ethiopia, Zambia and Mauritius.
The commission has taken the path of Botswana, Ethiopia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe by suggesting liberalisation of the law to ensure “limited circumstances” where victims of rape, defilement, and incest can seek abortion within 16 weeks.
In an interview, Law Commissioner Gertrude Hiwa said: “The commission considered the issue of either legalising abortion or to liberalise the laws.”
If adopted, women will also be allowed to abort where there is a substantial risk that the continued pregnancy will result in severe malformation of the unborn baby.
