Decriminalization of Abortion in Nepal: Imperative to Uphold Women’s Rights (Fact Sheet)
This 2021 fact sheet by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD) highlights the continued criminalization of women for seeking abortion beyond prescribed legal conditions despite progressive legislation that came into force in 2018.
The Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights (SMRHR) Act aims to respect, protect, and fulfill woman’s reproductive health rights and recognizes access to abortion as a right to reproductive health. However, it fails to fully decriminalize abortion by prohibiting women from seeking abortion beyond the prescribed legal conditions and thus poses continued risk of prosecution against women.
This fact sheet recommends that Nepal fully decriminalize abortion and take concrete steps to eliminate punitive measures for women and for health care providers including by repealing the penal provisions on abortion under the Penal Code.
Read Decriminalization of Abortion in Nepal: Imperative to Uphold Women’s Rights.
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