Abortion in Madagascar

Abortion has been illegal since the French colonial era, influenced by attitudes favoring increased births.

Article 317 of the penal code of Madagascar says women who receive abortions can be punished by 6 months to 2 years of prison or a fine of 2 million ariary.

It sentences people who assist in an abortion to 1-5 years of prison and a fine of 360,000 to 10.8 million ariary (€80 to €2,500), or higher for repeat offenders.

[3] According to a 2022 survey by Afrobarometer, 96% of Malagasy oppose the legalization of on-demand abortion, and 85% in the case of rape.

[5] Marie Fabien Raharilamboniaina, head of the Episcopal Conference of Madagascar, has argued that the life of the infant is sacred.

[2] On 15 June 1898, Governor-General Joseph Gallieni issued a decree of "diverse measures aimed at favoring the growth of the population in Imerina".

A 1920 French law banned contraception and abortion, with the intent of increase birth rates.

[3][10] Since 1984, Republican presidents of the United States implemented the Mexico City policy, which prohibited U.S. federal funding for foreign organizations that advocate for abortion.

[11] Women in Madagascar faced higher fees, stock-outs, and further distances to access contraceptives.

Madagascar's government listed the loss of USAID funding as an obstacle to its family planning commitments.

[3] Two international NGOs, including MSI Reproductive Choices were major contraception partners of the MOH.

Participants argued that abortion was a public health issue and chanted "Keep your rosaries off our ovaries!

[17] The University of Antananarivo hosted the country's first event for International Safe Abortion Day in 2019.

[18] In December 2019, a visiting delegation from the African Union advocated for Madagascar to ratify the Maputo Protocol.

[16] In 2021, a documentary about the group's research was shown at the Institut français de Madagascar [fr] and broadcast on the radio.

[20] In May 2022, the group led a protest with founding member Mbolatiana Raveloarimisa outside of the National Assembly.

[1] When France declared a constitutional right to abortion, Raveloarimisa spoke at the ceremony.

[21] On 2 November 2021, independent MP Masy Goulamaly introduced a bill allowing abortion in the case of rape or incest.

[22] The president of the National Order of Physicians, Eric Andrianasolo, supported legalizing abortions performed to protect health.

[27] In 2024, the regional director of the United Nations Population Fund, Lydia Zigomo, urged Madagascar to reform its law.

[3] Unsafe abortions are the second-leading cause of maternal mortality in Madagascar, behind postpartum hemorrhage.

[32] Three women per day die of induced or spontaneous abortion, according to MSI Reproductive Choices in 2019.

[2] Common methods performed by trained providers include curettage, insertion of a catheter, and use of misoprostol alone.

[31] Manual vacuum aspiration is preferred by many women, who believe it "cleans" the womb similarly to menstruation.

Many women receive abortions from traditional midwives, reninjaza, who are not medically qualified.

Other reasons include rumors about negative health effects and pressure from abusive husbands.