Rebecca Kadaga, the Deputy Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, has recently called for the legalization of abortion in Uganda. Kadaga believes that it is possible to legalize abortion in Uganda in line with the Maputo Protocol, an agreement led by the African Union that includes provisions on women’s rights.
In relation to abortion, the Maputo Protocol states: “State parties shall take all appropriate measures to protect the reproductive rights of women by authorizing medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest and where the continued pregnancy endangers the mental and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother or fetus,” according to The New Vision. Uganda has not ratified the agreement, but local women’s rights activists are pushing for ratification.
According to The New Vision, Kagada has reportedly said “the civil society went to the Church and mobilized religious leaders to support the cause of abortion. So it is possible, I do not want us to close the door.”
