Zimbabwe’s current laws on the issue of abortion are considered too harsh on pregnant teenagers and as a result, they fuel early marriages.
This was said by the Public Prosecutor in the Attorney General’s office, Kudzai Chigwedere while speaking at the just ended National Termination of Pregnancy roundtable meeting that was hosted by Katswe Sisterhood and Right Here Right Now Zimbabwe (RHRN). She said:
We also have cases of child marriages, I am of the view that the act indirectly promotes child marriages in the sense that while we are saying a girl who is a victim of sexual intercourse cannot terminate a pregnancy, are we not then saying the girl should go stay with the person responsible for the pregnancy.
What happens is we manage or maybe we prosecute such cases and at times maybe we give a non-custodial sentence and the next time we try to follow-up we hear they are already staying together, why because there is this pregnancy and that connection will last for life.
The Termination of Pregnancy Act (ToP) of 1977 only permits abortion if the pregnancy poses a threat to the life of the unborn child or the mother or if the pregnancy is as a result of incest or rape.
The abortion can only be conducted at a designated institution, in this case, a public hospital.
The law further states that at least two medical practitioners must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the pregnancy indeed warrants a termination.