HAZY ABORTION LAWS CAUSE CONFUSION IN MALAWI

In its current form, the law on abortion in Malawi is far from clear. There is no stand-alone law regulating access to abortion. Provisions on abortion are found in the Penal Code, where it is criminalised in sections 149 to 151 as well as sections 231 and 243. Abortion is illegal and punishable by a prison sentence of up to 14 years. There is an exception to this provision, where surgical intervention is done to “preserve life”. There is no clarity, however, on what “preserving life” entails, and under what circumstances this would be sufficient. As a result, many instances where continued pregnancy results in serious physical, mental and psycho-social harm to girls and women are not clearly considered and covered by the law. For example, Malawi records high numbers of rape and sexual assault cases involving young girls, some as young as 10 years old. Many of these girls fall pregnant as a result of the assault but are unable to obtain a safe abortion because service providers are not sure whether or not they would be allowed to terminate the pregnancy in terms of the law or find themselves facing criminal charges.