Gov’t Sued over Failure to Regulate Abortions

By Serestino Tusingwire

Prof. Ben Twinomugisha and Dr. Rose Nakayi (Makerere law dons), together with a civil society health rights advocates from the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), have asked constitutional court to order cabinet and parliament to immediately pass a law regulating abortions so as to reduce on marternal mortality rates that arise from unsafe abortions.

The law professors contend that the existing legislation only permits abortion in exceptional circumstances such as a life of a mother at risks but does not protect young girls and married women who may get unwanted pregnancies hence resorting to unsafe abortion methods.

The two scholars argue that in other African countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ghana and Tunisia, which are similar in social and economic circumstances as Uganda, deliberately developed laws to protect the rights of women by prescribing circumstances under which a woman is allowed to terminate her pregnancy.

They add that they see no reason as to why Uganda should not borrow a leaf from its neighbours and take an essential step to protect the lives of women who continue to die due to unsafe abortions.