KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 25
Stakeholders have stressed the need to amend prevailing laws to ensure and expand safe abortion rights to realise the spirit of the constitution that ensures right to reproductive health as a fundamental right.
Presenting a paper at a programme organised by the Family Planning Division of Department of Health on the occasion of Eighth National Safe Abortion Service Day, Executive Director of Forum for Women, Law and Development Sabin Shrestha said criminalisation of abortion was the biggest obstacle to women's right to reproductive health guaranteed by the constitution.
Stating that safe abortion was a right and not a crime, he said definition of abortion in the prevailing laws was defective as a result of which some women who had suffered miscarriage were indicted by the police.
Shrestha said the law only allows women to abort their foetus of up to 28 weeks, but it did not allow women to do so beyond 28 weeks of gestation even if women's life was in danger. He said there were cases where doctors and health professionals were unfairly indicted for providing safe abortion to women.
Chief of Family Welfare Division, Department of Health Services Bibek Kumar Lal presented a paper. He said that safe abortion services were available only in 19.2 per cent of health centres and only 41 per cent women knew that abortion was legal in the country.
He said the government would make efforts to remove the lacunae in the Right to Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Act, provide training to health professionals, provide safe abortion services and carry out programmes to ensure attitude transformation.
Secretary at the Ministry for Health and Population Roshan Pokharel said government agencies should first ensure cent per cent coverage of safe abortion service in Kathmandu metropolis before ensuring full coverage of the service across the country.
Minister of State for Health and Population Hira Chandra KC said education and awareness played a key role in ensuring the enjoyment of reproductive health rights, including safe abortion. The programmes featured an Ipas Nepal documentary that contained the description of stakeholders' struggle and current challenges in achieving safe abortion rights. Family Health Division of Department of Health organised the programme to mark 20 years since safe abortion was made legal in Nepal with the slogan 'Safe abortion is a right not a crime.'
A version of this article appears in the print on September 26, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
