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New legislation holds promise for reducing the toll of unsafe abortion


March 18, 2002
In an historic move, Nepali lawmakers last week overwhelmingly approved legislation aimed at significantly advancing the health and rights of women in this Himalayan kingdom, including by making early abortion available on request.

The new law, which now awaits King Gyanendra's signature, permits abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy for any reason and up to 18 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, endangerment to the woman's life and serious fetal impairment. The bill stipulates that abortions must be performed by government-authorized surgeons or paramedics.

Until now, Nepali law has not allowed abortion under any circumstances, and women suspected of having abortions have been vigorously prosecuted. Fully one-fifth of women imprisoned in Nepal are there for having had abortions, which has been punishable by a life sentence. The new provisions governing abortion are part of broader legislation amending Nepal's civil code which also reverses longstanding discrimination in property and marriage rights and improves couples' access to contraception.

Passage of the bill comes after a long struggle for reform by the Forum for Women, Law and Development and other Nepali nongovernmental organizations such as the Centre for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) and the Family Planning Association of Nepal. While thrilled with this landmark action, advocates note that the law still contains numerous discriminatory clauses and that it does not call for the release of women currently serving prison time for abortion.

Thousands of illegal abortions are induced in Nepal each year, leading to many deaths of women from unsafe abortion. Nepal has Asia's second-highest maternal mortality ratio — estimated at 830 deaths of women for every 100,000 live births. Unsafe abortion reportedly accounts for half of all deaths of women related to pregnancy. Research further indicates that up to 60 percent of all obstetric and gynecological hospital admissions are for treatment of abortion complications.

For more information:

International Planned Parenthood Federation

The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258