Law-Zim

  THE DEONTOLOGY. (Study the law with Blessed Mupatsi). Assisted by: Nompilo P. Nkomo. In Zimbabwe in the late 19 th century, through the promulgation of the Termination of Pregnancy Act [Chapter 15:10] (hereinafter ‘the Act’) to deliberately terminate a pregnancy was criminal except when necessary. It was permitted if the purpose was to save the mother’s life, if the pregnancy caused serious threat of permanent impairment of mother’s physical health (not mental health), serious threat that the child will be born with physical or mental defect which will seriously handicap him or her or /and the foetus is conceived as a result of unlawful intercourse which is usually rape. This position was affirmed by section 60 ‘ unlawful termination of pregnancy ’ of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23]. Therefore, in light of these provisions it is crystal that in our jurisdiction it is not lawful to carry out an abortion on socio-economic grounds, however Zambia prescrib