New Fact Sheet Examines Sri Lanka Abortion Laws, Policies and Practices

Abortion in Sri Lanka is illegal except for the purpose of saving the life of the mother—resulting in unsafe abortions that place the health of pregnant people at risk. Despite those dangers, repeated attempts to amend Sri Lanka’s abortion laws have failed. 

The Center for Reproductive Rights and its partner, the Centre for Equality and Justice (CEJ), recently developed a fact sheet examining Sri Lanka’s abortion laws, policies and practices and the impact of the current legal-policy framework on women and girls. It also outlines recommendations for reforming laws and policies to improve access to care. 

Titled Laws, Policies and Practices on Abortion in Sri Lanka, the fact sheet is based on desk study and extensive qualitative interviews with medical professionals, women seeking abortion care, and other civil service representatives.  

Clandestine Abortions Put Those Needing Care at High Risk 

Despite Sri Lanka’s restrictive legal framework, abortion is available clandestinely, putting women’s health and lives at risk. Such clandestine care is often provided “by unqualified people under unhygienic conditions, using instruments which are not sterile” and “may cause death due to these severe complications,”  according to the report.

Research conducted in 2015 found that unsafe abortions are responsible for up to 13 percent of maternal deaths in Sri Lanka, making it the third most common cause of death during pregnancy. 

As detailed in the fact sheet, since 1995 there have been numerous, yet unsuccessful, attempts to amend the country’s abortion laws. Religious groups have been the main sources of opposition to reform. 

Applying a Human Rights Framework to Sri Lanka’s Abortion Landscape  

United Nations human rights treaty bodies have expressed concern over Sri Lanka’s abortion laws and have recommended decriminalizing abortion in all cases and legalizing abortion at the least for all cases of rape, incest and severe fetal impairment. Several human rights principles establish the right to health, including the right to sexual and reproductive health.   

The fact sheet examines the specific recommendations provided by several treaty monitoring bodies towards decriminalizing abortion in Sri Lanka. It also outlines the World Health Organization’s 2022 “Abortion Care Guideline” recommendations, which include major legal and policy guidance on age limits, waiting periods, medical care, and general access to abortion care. 

Prabina Bajracharya, the Center’s Regional Director for Asia, notes: “This fact sheet will be key in contributing towards rights-based regulation of abortion in Sri Lanka. This is the first of its kind that examines law and policy around abortion from the lens of established human rights standards. Through the qualitative interviews we have also foregrounded the lived experiences and ground realities of abortion seekers and providers in Sri Lanka.”  

Shyamala Gomez, Executive Director, Center for Equality and Justice, adds: “This fact sheet will further the call for reforms to the abortion law in Sri Lanka to conform with international standards and practices. Lawmakers, policymakers, and religious leaders must understand that restrictive abortion laws do not stop abortions. They only result in unsafe and unregulated abortions.”