Kuda Pembere
A coalition of girls’ rights and health advocates has condemned the deletion of Clause 11 from the Medical Services Amendment Bill, arguing that the decision preserves outdated administrative hurdles that continue to obstruct women and girls from accessing legal abortion care.
Following the deletion of Clause 11 from the Medical Services Amendment Bill, which had sought to expand access to safe abortion services within existing legal provisions, a coalition of girls’ rights and health advocates has described the decision as retrogressive.
In a statement, the coalition said it was disappointed by the move, which saw the Bill approved without Clause 11.
“A coalition of girls’ rights and health advocates today expressed deep disappointment following the Minister of Health and Child Care’s directive to delete Clause 11 from the Medical Services Amendment Bill,” the coalition said.
“This move, influenced by a campaign of misinformation, is viewed as a significant step backward for reproductive justice and a failure to comply with the Constitution of Zimbabwe and recent High Court rulings.”
The coalition stressed that Clause 11 was an administrative reform designed to remove what it termed outdated, colonial-era barriers that delay access to medical services already permitted under the Termination of Pregnancy Act.
“It’s deletion preserves a status quo of excessive paperwork and delays, effectively rendering constitutional rights meaningless for vulnerable women and girls,” the coalition said.
The group maintained that Clause 11 was not intended to liberalise abortion laws, but to ensure timely and humane care for survivors of sexual violence and women facing life-threatening complications.
“We are disappointed that falsehoods about the Bill have been believed. Clause 11 was never a ‘backdoor’ to abortion on demand. It did not legalise abortion on request, nor did it expand the grounds for termination,” said Loveness Rukuni, a girls’ rights advocate. “It was purely a technical provision to operationalise our existing law for victims of rape, incest, and those whose lives or health are at risk, as our courts have already mandated.”
Women’s health advocate Ednah Masiyiwa said the deletion disregarded judicial guidance in landmark cases where the 1977 abortion law was found wanting, including Mildred Mapingure v Minister of Home Affairs & Ors and WLSA Zimbabwe v Minister of Health & Child Care.
According to the coalition, the Mapingure case exposed how bureaucratic delays can deny rape survivors timely care, underscoring the need to treat abortion as a medical service rather than a rigid procedural process.
“The deletion of Clause 11 from the Medical Services Amendment Bill disregards clear judicial guidance on the systemic and administrative barriers women and girls face in accessing lawful abortion in Zimbabwe,” she said.
More recent judgments, including Community Working Group on Health & Anor v Minister of Health & 2 Ors, have highlighted gaps affecting minors, survivors of marital rape and the exclusion of mental health as grounds for termination. Despite these rulings, lawmakers and the Ministries of Health and Child Care and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs have not enacted comprehensive reforms to address what advocates describe as constitutional and practical deficiencies.
The coalition said removing Clause 11 represents a missed opportunity to align the law with judicial findings and adopt a survivor-centred, health-based approach.
“The debate over the Medical Services Bill was never about abstract morality; it was about mortality. It was about healthcare, which is the basic point of the entire Bill,” said Onward Chironda, Executive Director of My Age Africa Trust. “We cannot ignore the reality of 70,000 unsafe abortions occurring annually in Zimbabwe because the law remains trapped in 1977. A right that exists only on paper is not a real right. Those rights should be a reality.”
Despite the setback, women and girls’ rights advocates said they remain committed to securing the highest attainable standard of care.
The coalition said it will continue engaging the Senate and Parliament to ensure the 18-month window provided by the High Court is used to amend the Termination of Pregnancy Act with dignity and health at its centre. It also pledged to intensify public education efforts to unpack the law and counter misinformation, and to await confirmation from the Constitutional Court on recent rulings expected to compel Parliament to align health legislation with contemporary medical understanding, including mental and psychological well-being.
