Advocates of legal abortion believe that illegality contributes to the maternal mortality rate.
Receiving, performing, or aiding in an abortion is a crime punishable by life imprisonment.
[2] Before the constitution was amended, the country was subject to Dutch-Roman common law, which allowed abortion only to save the woman's life.
It has cited the lower maternal mortality rate in South Africa, where abortion is legal.
[1] Activists have mobilised against international anti-abortion groups in Eswatini and other countries in the region.
[7] In 2020, a High Court judge, Qinisile Mabuza, voiced her support for legalising abortion.
After hearing a case of infanticide, she said that a ban on abortion led to such measures and decreased women's autonomy.
[10] Eswatini is a signatory of the 2020 Geneva Consensus Declaration, which says abortion is not an international right.
It was proposed by MP Johannes Ndlangamandla, who said that "abortion should be legalised to curb the population of unwanted babies who end up becoming a burden to government", and disagreed with the argument that it would be against Christianity.
Cases of baby corpses abandoned in remote areas are commonly reported.
[1] During the presidency of Donald Trump, the United States instated the Mexico City policy, which banned federal funding for foreign organisations that perform or advocate for abortion.
[19] The Family Life Association of Eswatini lost its funding from the U.S. government initiative PEPFAR and ended its medical circumcision services.