Abortion in Malawi

In 2010, the international non-governmental organization Ipas formed a coalition that lobbied for abortion law reform.

In 2012, the Ministry of Health under President Joyce Banda formed a commission that proposed the Termination of Pregnancy Bill.

Post-abortion care uses dilation and curettage more frequently than manual vacuum aspiration, despite national and international guidelines recommending the latter.

Section 149, which is based on the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, bans abortion:[1] Any person who, with intent to procure a miscarriage of a woman, whether she is or is not with child, unlawfully administers to her or causes her to take any poison or other noxious thing, or uses any force of any kind, or uses any other means whatever, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.Section 150 sets a seven-year prison sentence for administering or aiding in an abortion.

[2] Section 243, based on the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, allows abortion if necessary to save the life of the mother:[1] A person is not criminally responsible for performing, in good faith and with reasonable care and skill, a surgical operation upon any person for his benefit, or upon an unborn child for the preservation of the mother's life, if the performance of the operation is reasonable, having regard to the patient's state at the time, and to all the circumstances of the case.Malawi's abortion law is one of the strictest in the world.

Healthcare workers interpret the law conservatively due to the lack of clarity and fears of prosecution.

Article 14 mandates the right to abortion in the cases of rape, incest, fetal non-viability, or danger to the mother's physical or mental health, but political and administrative barriers have prevented Malawi from passing such legislation.

[5] The U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women noted Malawi's maternal mortality rate in 2010 and called for legal access to safe abortion in 2015.

[1] MSI Reproductive Choices and its national affiliate Banja La Mtsogolo have operated in Malawi since 1987.

[8] After the first multiparty elections in 1994, more reproductive health organisations began operating in Malawi, including Population Services International in 1994, CARE in 1998, and Ipas, EngenderHealth, and Jhpiego in 1999.

[7][8] In 2011, the UK Department for International Development funded Ipas and MSI for a multi-country program that expanded their operations in Malawi.

[8] After a 2008 meeting with the Ipas African Alliance, and again in 2011, Malawi's Reproductive Health Unit and Human Rights Commission petitioned to reform the law.

[2] In 2010, Ipas and Women in Law Southern Africa–Malawi created the Coalition for Prevention of Unsafe Abortion (COPUA), a group of 12 organisations, expanding to 60 by 2016.

Banja La Mtsogolo declined to join as it feared backlash for its European leadership, but it contributes funding.

[8] In 2012, under the leadership of the policy associate of Ipas Malawi, COPUA began a lobbying campaign, meeting with politicians and religious leaders and making media appearances.

It noted the "mixed reactions and perceptions" regarding abortion and included high-level representatives of religious groups to build public confidence.

[7] The Special Law commission found a high rate of abortions with frequent complications and deaths.

Many members of parliament, including Aisha Mambo of the Mangochi-Nkungulu constituency, were noncommittal and said they would base their decision on their religious beliefs.

[12][7] The Archbishop of Blantyre, Thomas Luke Msusa, said in November 2016 that "no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.

Its chair, Reverend Alex Benson Maulana, said, "We will continue to preach that abortion is a sin but we appreciate government efforts to address maternal mortality caused by unwanted pregnancy.

"[7][11] Hastings Banda's stance that family planning is against Malawian values has led to an argument that abortion services have been imposed by foreign donors.

Human Life International, which opposes the Maputo Protocol, has made personal attacks on reproductive health advocates in Malawi and accused Ipas of "targeting the country for depopulation".

They say that legal abortion would save the government money, be good for the economy, and result in fewer deaths.

[7] The president of the Women Lawyers Association of Malawi, Immaculate Maluza, said, "This is a health issue, [but] most opposition is on religious and moral grounds, claiming this [bill] is a Western thing.

[4] Some women perform self-induced abortions by consuming herb mixes, washing powder, drugs, or bark.

[18] Some women receive safe abortions from covert providers in public and private clinics in urban areas.

[17] Malawi's high total fertility rate and unmet need for contraception contribute to the frequency of unsafe abortions.

Some girls in rural areas take part in initiation ceremonies that involve beginning sexual relations, which can result in unwanted pregnancies.

[23] Malawi's national PAC policy, like the WHO guidelines, promotes manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) over dilation and curettage (D&C).

[11] Many patients come to clinics in life-threatening condition or delay seeking care due to the stigma surrounding abortion.