Open Access
Abortion law reform in Africa: A reproductive health and rights perspective
Edited by Charles Ngwena, Ebenezer Durojaye, Satang Nabaneh & Nkatha Murungi
2025
ISBN: 978-1-0672371-6-5
Pages: 331
Print version: Available
Electronic version: Free PDF available
About the publication
Despite notable legal and policy advancements in post-colonial Africa, unsafe abortion remains a pressing public health concern. Abortion Law Reform in Africa: A Reproductive Health and Rights Perspective, spearheaded by the late Professor Charles Ngwena, offers a vital and timely examination of this ongoing challenge. This collection of essays moves beyond a mere analysis of legal texts, unpacking the deep-rooted barriers that continue to limit access to safe abortion services in Africa. The authors critically assess the real-world impact of current reforms, highlighting their shortcomings in providing accessible, rights-based care. They offer concrete strategies aimed at strengthening legal and policy frameworks to promote reproductive autonomy, improve reproductive health outcomes, and advance gender equality for women and girls confronting unwanted pregnancies. Through a compelling exploration of how restrictive laws push countless women towards unsafe procedures – often with fatal or debilitating consequences – the volume underscores that meaningful reform demands more than legislative change. It calls for addressing the broader social, economic, and cultural determinants that restrict access to abortion care. By advocating for the implementation of progressive instruments such as the African Women’s Protocol, this book stands as a powerful call to action for African policymakers and stakeholders to facilitate access to safe abortion care services. It urges the adoption of comprehensive and transformative measures that can truly secure women’s rights to safe abortion and prevent needless suffering and death.
Table of Contents
Preface
Contributors
Tribute
1 Introduction
Charles Ngwena, Ebenezer Durojaye, Satang Nabaneh & Nkatha Murungi
2 Abortion law in South Africa: Practices and growing conflicts
Satang Nabaneh
3 Malawi: The first judicial review case on abortion: CM (Minor)
Godfrey Dalitso Kangaude & Lewis Chezan Bande
5 Towards a constitutionally compliant termination of Pregnancy Act in Zimbabwe: Upholding a rights-based approach to abortion
Nyasha Chingore-Munazvo & Sarah Bosha
6 Kenya’s abortion law reform: A tale of hope and despair
Nerima Akinyi Were & Saoyo Tabitha Griffith
7 The decriminalisation of abortion in Tunisia: From Neo-Malthusian to conservatism
Atf Gherissi & Irene Maffi
8 Abortion law in Nigeria: Interrogating reforms towards liberalisation
Olaide Gbadamosi
9 The 2005 revised abortion law of Ethiopia: Policy and practice
Saba Kidanemariam Gebru
11 Abortion law and policy reforms in Ghana
John Ganle & Eunice Brookman-Amissah
12 ‘Taking women’s rights seriously’: Charles Ngwena on abortion law and practice in Africa
Satang Nabaneh