For thousands of women around the world, the criminalization of reproductive health services for women and girls remains a leading cause of maternal deaths. In Malawi, a woman can be jailed for up to seven years for terminating her pregnancy\u2014even if her pregnancy was a result of sexual abuse or would harm her health, or in cases of a lethal fetal abnormality. The Malawi criminal law\u2014one of the strictest in the world\u2014leads to the deaths of desperate women and girls who use unsafe and clandestine measures to terminate a pregnancy, such as drinking poison or using bicycle spokes or other sharp objects.<\/p>\n
The International Women\u2019s Human Rights Clinic has worked with Women and Law in Southern Africa Research and Educational Trust\u2014Malawi (WLSA Malawi) to fight for women\u2019s and girls\u2019 rights to life, health, privacy, equality, and dignity. Learn more about the harms of Malawi\u2019s complete abortion criminalization and women\u2019s rights under international human rights treaties by watching the Clinic\u2019s webinar on this subject and reading the human rights report and proposed legislative bill for changing the law on termination of pregnancy.<\/p>\n