Every year thousands of women die from the consequences of unsafe abortions in the world. According to RFSU's reports, unsafe abortions account for over 10 percent of all maternal mortality in the world. The Agenda 2030 negotiated in the UN in September 2015 has 17 Global goals for Sustainable Development to be achieved by 2030. Goal 3 is about Good health and well-being. Goal 3.1 is that by 2030, maternal mortality should decrease to less than 70 deaths per 100,000 births. 2015 Tanzania had 398 deaths per 100,000 births, in order to give some perspective Sweden had 4 deaths per 100,000 births the same year.
The purpose of this project is to study the abortion law in Tanzania and its consequences on women’s health with a focus of the social dimension of sustainable development. I have therefore studied social factors such as culture, religion, norms and values in the country to get a general picture of the view on the abortion and to also understand the law better. For my study these questions have been answered, discussed and analyzed:
● How does the abortion law look like in Tanzania?
● What established values about abortion exist?
● What possible reasons for abortions could there be in the country?
● Does the abortion law affect women's health?
My report consisted of handing out surveys and having group discussions with students from two schools in Bukoba. The methods were very helpful for my study regarding to collect information about the attitude and information adolescents have and social norms in general.I also had two interviews with two attorneys which were very helpful for me to understand the law and how it works in practice. I want to point out that that it was a very small selection of school students and for the interviews. The results can therefore not be fully generalized to all Tanzanians view and perception regarding abortion in the country. Therefore I also used literary studies in Sweden to collect information on the subject in order to get a broader picture of the issue. I also would have wished for to get an interview with a health worker or to visit a maternity clinic in order to get an extended understanding of how the abortion law affects women’s health. Interviewing a doctor with experience of both assessing and conducting safe and legal abortions had been very relevant to the study. It would probably have provided insight into what existing guidelines doctors have when assessing the reasons that are valid for a legal abortion.
I will now try to present my results very briefly.
● How does the abortion law look like in Tanzania? In Tanzania, abortion is only allowed if the woman's life is in danger or to preserve the woman's physical and mental health. To be able to carry out a legal abortion in these circumstances, a doctor must approve the reasons. If you look at the penal code, abortion is also prohibited and punishable. Depending on how and whom that is carrying out the abortion the punishment can be either 3, 7 or 14 years imprisonment.
● What established values about abortion exist? The established values concerning abortion that I have found with this study is that abortion is considered as murder and therefore a sin. It is also clear that to carry out an abortion is very shameful and that people could talk about you as a prostitute since it often means that you have had sex before marriage.
● What possible reasons for abortions could there be in the country? Of course, women do abortions because they have unwanted pregnancies of various reasons, it could be a result of sexual violence, lack of contraceptives and early marriage. Mandatory pregnancy test in school is another reason that this study has found. Tanzania has a high rate of teenage pregnancy, and many pregnant young girls carry out illegal abortions in order to stay in school, since pregnant students are prohibited from school, which newly passed the law.
● Does the abortion law affect women's health? Women not knowing about the abortion law or do not have the money to pay a legal one leaves many women to do unsafe and illegal abortions. These abortions are usually carried out by non-professional health workers and can involve methods that for example can include herbs, ash, heavy drugs and sharp objects. These methods are often dangerous and can lead to complications such as severe bleeding, illnesses and in worst case death.
CONCLUSION The conclusion of this study is that Tanzania’s abortion law does not fully reflect the international and regional treaties affirming women’s human rights, which the country has ratified. Treaties such as the Maputo Protocol, that say that abortion also should be allowed in cases of sexual violence and incest. The common view on abortion is clearly founded on religious values and cultural norm and is considered as murder and is very shameful. Inadequate access to safe and legal abortion services, especially in rural areas, together with a restrictive abortion law, have in this study been proved to, because of various reasons, leave women without a choice except to perform an unsafe abortion. The consequences of the abortion law have therefore been proved to affect women’s health in a negative and unsustainable way.
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