Zim GBC News | Health Correspondent
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) has officially endorsed Clause 11 of the Medical Services Amendment Bill, describing the provision as a crucial step toward reducing unsafe abortions and cutting maternal deaths in Zimbabwe.
In a statement issued on 12 February 2026, the doctors’ rights group said the proposed amendment would modernise the country’s outdated termination of pregnancy laws and align them with constitutional guarantees on healthcare, dignity, and bodily integrity.
Currently, abortion in Zimbabwe is only permitted under limited circumstances: when a pregnancy poses a serious threat to a woman’s life, in cases of severe foetal abnormality, or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest.
Clause 11 seeks to broaden access to safe abortion services within regulated medical settings, a move ZADHR argues is long overdue.
“The Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1977 is outdated and no longer suitable for today’s public health realities,” ZADHR stated.
“Clause 11 represents a major step towards protecting women’s health and rights.”
The association emphasised that the provision aligns with several sections of Zimbabwe’s Constitution, including Section 76, which guarantees the right to healthcare, as well as Sections 48, 51 and 52, which protect the rights to life, dignity, and bodily integrity.
“The proposed changes will expand access to abortion services in regulated facilities, reduce procedural delays, strengthen informed consent, and prevent women and girls from resorting to unsafe underground abortions,” the organisation said.
ZADHR highlighted that Zimbabwe continues to face serious maternal health challenges.
According to the 2023–2024 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey, the maternal mortality ratio stands at an estimated 212 deaths per 100,000 live births.
The association added that unsafe abortion is believed to contribute to around 16 percent of maternal deaths in the country.
Citing research from the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Guttmacher Institute, ZADHR noted that an estimated 65,000 to 80,000 induced abortions occur in Zimbabwe annually. Of these, around 25,000 women require hospital treatment due to complications from unsafe procedures.
“Global evidence, including from the World Health Organisation (WHO), shows that restrictive abortion laws do not stop abortions,” ZADHR said.
“Instead, they push women into dangerous methods that increase the risk of complications and death.”
The doctors’ group described the Medical Services Amendment Bill as a constitutionally grounded reform that could reduce preventable maternal deaths and align Zimbabwe’s health system with international human rights standards.
“These changes are not just about law reform; they are about saving lives,” ZADHR concluded.
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