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oviders 8 a 2009 study estimated that the country had an abortion rate of 25 per 1 000 women of reproductive age as well as 16 700 cases of post abortion care the highest abortion rate was in kigali where services were more available 18 the illegality and stigmatization of abortion often led women in the country to avoid pac even for spontaneous abortions 19 many women were arrested for abortions after being reported by people they knew personally 20 in 2008 2013 rwanda had 227 women imprisoned on abortion charges out of a total of 7 807 women imprisoned according to official statistics however a 2015 study of five prisons found that over one fifth of women in each prison faced abortion charges 21 2012 penal code revision edit human rights organizations 16 and advocacy groups such as yam rwanda influenced the inclusion of an abortion law in the 2012 revision to rwanda s penal code 22 the african women s rights advocacy coalition soawr petitioned president paul kagame to reform rwanda s abortion law in a may 2012 letter 23 it was opposed by many religious leaders 24 the abortion article received more attention than the rest of the penal code revision several opponents of the law appeared at a news conference at village urugwiro in may 2012 25 the following month the ministry of justice wrote to the parliament of rwanda requesting that the country remove its reservation to article 14 of the maputo protocol which provided for a right to abortion on grounds similar to the proposed penal code the principal state attorney frank mwine mugisha said our laws would be contradictory with the protocol if we don t remove reservations once the reservations are removed then the new penal code will be incorporating the maputo provisions 26 the penal code revision was passed on 14 june 2012 27 including an abortion law in article 162 13 this added the legal grounds of rape incest and forced marriage and it reduced the prison sentence for illegal abortions to one to three years 11 court orders were required to prove non medical grounds 2 the country also removed its reservations to the maputo protocol at this time 2 the penal code amendment did not specify whether these grounds also included statutory rape of minors 28 the passage of this legislation lessened the taboo about abortion the ministry of health ministry of justice ministry of gender and family promotion de national women s council and national youth council participated in discussions about the subject 29 the ministry of health began the operationalization of the penal code of 2012 program in january 2013 with the goals of making safe abortion available to everyone and reducing abortion complications by 75 by 2018 with partners including the rwanda society of obstetricians and gynecologists this program developed a protocol for implementation and training materials it trained twenty four healthcare professionals in 2014 and held orientation meetings with 138 stakeholders across 8 locations the program also led to the registration and availability of misoprostol and mifepristone 30 under the 2013 abortion law women seeking abortions were limited by the requirement of a court order which involved the reporting of an incident within 72 hours followed by a legal process some victims who succeeded in receiving court orders did so too late to receive an abortion 31 the requirement for the approval of two physicians was also limiting since rwanda had only one doctor per 16 000 to 17 000 people concentrated in urban areas 32 rural areas also lacked facilities that can legally provide the procedure 33 abortion activists from arbef and hdi said that the penal code amendment did not resolve the issue of unsafe abortion lawyer tom mulisa said that a year after the amendment the courts had heard no abortion cases with the legal requirements being too difficult for most people to go through 27 misoprostol was added to rwanda s essential medicines list in 2015 with the goal of the availability of all abortion methods recommended by the world health organization 34 in march 2016 the rwanda law reform commission proposed that being a minor should be a legal ground for abortion as sex with a minor was illegal 35 it received support from some legislators and members of the public in december 2016 kagame issued 62 pardons to people who had received abortions before the age of sixteen 36 a 2016 article in the new times reported that legal abortion remained infeasible with court cases sometimes lasting over a year 3 between 2012 and 2018 there were only five court cases requesting legal abortions 37 2018 penal code revision edit a proposal to amend the penal code s section on abortion was passed by the parliament in december 2017 the amendment removed the requirement for court orders civil society groups such as hdi supported this change it also allowed minors to get abortions with the requirement of parental accompaniment this requirement was supported by members of parliament including euthalie nyirabega saying parents would protect their children against unnecessary abortions 38 the amendment also removed the requirement for the approval of two physicians it was enacted in october 2018 and came into effect in april 2019 with the passage of ministerial order no 002 moh 2019 37 this order established a gestational limit of 22 weeks 39 and required abortions to be performed at hospitals or polyclinics 33 5 some members of the public opposed the ministerial order saying it may make abortion too easy 40 the safe abortion guidelines were also enacted in 2019 41 the new times reported that the amendment to the abortion law had led to an increase in public requests for abortions 37 in april 2019 before the enactment of the ministerial order kagame issued a pardon to 367 people charged with abortion 42 43 followed by another 52 in october 44 in may 2020 he pardoned another 50 women charged with abortion including 6 with life sentences but minister for justice johnston busingye said that 9 accomplices would not be pardoned 45 46 by september 2023 over 500 pardons had been issued since 2016 with 123 remaining in prison hdi began a program to assist women who were pardoned many of whom faced social rejection for having abortions 16 the ngo great lakes initiative for human rights and development glifhd sued the ministry of justice over the abortion law in a case heard by the supreme court of rwanda in december 2021 the glihd argued that the requirements for providers of abortion led to inequitable access as an amicus curiae in the case hdi argued that midwives and nurses who could legally provide post abortion care should be able to provide abortions 47 glihd s tom mulisa argued that there were not enough hospitals to perform the procedure the ministry of justice argued that physicians and high level facilities were required to perform abortions safely 48 the court s ruling upheld the existing law 49 the ministry of health s plan for comprehensive abortion care for 2022 2024 aimed for the ministry and its rwanda biomedical centre rw to align with the world health organization s guidelines 50 in 2023 the protestant council of rwanda declared that its health centers 10 of health centers in the country would stop providing abortions the archbishop of the anglican church of rwanda laurent mbanda said we are not opposing the law but our belief does not allow us to support abortion adding that patients would be referred to other facilities 51 a ministerial order approved in june 2024 and published in december 2024 expanded the criteria for legal abortion providers allowing the procedure at health centers or clinics if authorized by the ministry of health and allowing midwives or nurses to perform it 5 52 prevalence edit in 2015 2019 rwanda had an estimated annual abortion incidence of 84 300 equal to 29 of unintended pregnancies or 16 of all pregnancies the abortion rate had stayed stagnant since 1990 1994 since which time the unintended pregnancy rate had decreased by 31 53 a 2012 report found that half of all pregnancies were unintended of which 22 were aborted and that half of abortions are unsafe 2 abortion is stigmatized in the country which strongly impacts discourse on the subject 28 and leads to a lack of research on the subject by rwandans 54 it is difficult to access safe legal abortion services in rwanda 6 as of 2015 update the overwhelming majority of abortions are performed outside of health facilities 55 as victims of rape are stigmatized as well as abortion many victims keep their abortions secret limiting their access to legal abortion 11 illegal abortions are common among people who cannot access sexual and reproductive health services or who fear public stigma these often result in complications 56 as of 2013 update 34 of abortions in the country are performed by folk healers are 17 are self induced with 40 of abortions resulting in complications 42 such abortions are particularly common among poor or rural women 55 self induced abortions often use herbal or pharmaceutical products acquired within social networks 16 many hospitals including religious hospitals do not provide abortion and many patients face delays when sent between hospitals for the procedure 57 another reason for delay is that for community based health insurance plans to cover costs a patient must get a referral from a health center before going to a hospital 58 abortion patients may face resistance from healthcare professionals based on their moral beliefs ethical guidelines for physicians do not list a duty to provide abortions 3 health workers may also report recipients of illegal abortions to authorities despite medical privacy guidelines 59 some facilities block access to abortion medications out of fear of abuse 60 rwanda has high rates of fertility unintended pregnancy and sexual violence 55 unintended pregnancy is stigmatized and rwandan norms extend this stigma to the family so women with unintended pregnancies are often motivated to abort to avoid this 56 educated women with unintended pregnancies may have abortions to avoid the social consequences and students often have abortions to complete their education 61 many people including judges and health providers do not know of the abortion law 7 many areas are policed by community policing committees which may enforce an abortion ban based on moral values often violating rights to confidentiality 62 a 2025 survey of youths in kigali found that 79 8 had knowledge of the availability of safe legal abortion 63 post abortion care edit post abortion care pac is available at public and private hospitals and health centers in rwanda 64 some catholic and other religious facilities do not provide pac 65 only two thirds of abortion patients seek pac 66 with poor women being less likely to receive it 67 initiatives by the ministry of health have focused on implementing adequate pac services 6 the operationalization of the penal code 2012 program introduced manual vacuum aspiration and misoprostol to many hospitals after the program use of the non recommended dilation and curettage method decreased from 39 to 1 and misoprostol was used in 83 of pac cases 28 according to a 2012 estimate the annual spending on pac by the rwandan healthcare system was 1 7 million us dollars of which 51 was for direct medical costs most of the cost was to treat incomplete abortion followed by sepsis and septic shock 68 a 2022 study of twelve countries found that rwanda had the lowest cost of pac per patient at 51 44 us dollars 69 debate and advocacy edit many people oppose abortion believing that it violates rwandan culture or religious beliefs some believe that abortion causes psychological harm or infertility or that legal abortion would cause misuse of health services or increased sexual activity 70 a study of healthcare professionals in kigali in the 2010s found that some support the legalization of abortion as a way to reduce stigma while others oppose it believing that health workers who provide abortions would be stigmatized 3 as a predominantly christian country christian opposition to abortion is common in rwanda including from catholics the largest affiliation 51 organizations affiliated with the catholic church and evangelical christian groups have opposed legalizing abortion the anti abortion advocacy group human life international also has a rwandan branch 16 references edit 1 2 3 4 5 country profile rwanda global abortion policies database world health organization 17 may 2022 retrieved 15 july 2025 1 2 3 4 5 hodoglugil et al 2017 p 83 1 2 3 4 påfs et al 2020 p 4 rugema et al 2023 p 3 1 2 3 ntirenganya emmanuel 10 december 2014 rwandan health centres clinics allowed to perform abortions the new times retrieved 17 july 2025 1 2 3 4 påfs et al 2020 p 2 1 2 kane mulisa umuhoza 2015 p 5 1 2 basinga et al 2012 p 11 knoppers brault sloss1990 pp 897 900 vlassoff et al 2015 p 224 1 2 3 umuhoza et al 2013 p 49 knoppers brault sloss1990 p 915 1 2 kane mulisa umuhoza 2015 p 4 woolner denov kahn 2019 pp 707 709 gerson 2005 p 756 1 2 3 4 5 mccammon sarah 2 september 2023 these rwandan women were sent to jail for having an abortion now free they speak out npr retrieved 17 july 2025 umuhoza et al 2013 pp 50 52 basinga et al 2012 p 17 påfs et al 2016 p 8 kane mulisa umuhoza 2015 p 1 påfs et al 2016 p 8 kane mulisa umuhoza 2015 p 9 umuhoza et al 2013 p 54 påfs et al 2020 pp 1 2 rugema et al 2023 p 2 rights group petition president over abortion the new times 20 may 2012 retrieved 17 july 2025 umuhoza et al 2013 p 54 påfs et al 2020 pp 1 2 penal code is more than just the abortion clause the new times 24 may 2012 retrieved 17 july 2025 mps to harmonise legislation on abortion the new times 8 june 2012 retrieved 17 july 2025 1 2 umutesi doreen 28 august 2013 abortion when it s down to court order the new times retrieved 17 july 2025 1 2 3 hodoglugil et al 2017 p 90 umuhoza et al 2013 pp 49 50 hodoglugil et al 2017 pp 83 84 hodoglugil et al 2017 p 88 umuhoza et al 2013 p 49 kane mulisa umuhoza 2015 p 1 1 2 prata et al 2025 p 2 grossman et al 2023 p 4 kwibuka eugene 20 march 2016 penal code review to relax law on abortion the new times retrieved 17 july 2025 tashboya athan 12 december 2016 civil society welcomes presidential pardon of abortion convicts the new times retrieved 17 july 2025 1 2 3 kuteesa hudson 15 august 2020 more women openly seek abortion services one year after rwanda relaxes law the new times retrieved 17 july 2025 rwirahira rodrigue 22 january 2018 rwanda s proposed abortion amendment takes procedure out of the courts the new humanitarian retrieved 17 july 2025 rugema et al 2023 pp 2 3 rugema et al 2023 p 7 prata et al 2025 p 3 1 2 law tara 6 april 2019 rwandan president pardons hundreds convicted of having or assisting in an abortion time retrieved 17 july 2025 remez mayall singh 2020 p 57 rwanda s president pardons 52 women jailed for abortions associated press 11 october 2019 ...