Mozambique has legalized abortion, making it one of the few countries in Africa to allow women to terminate unwanted pregnancies.The local media reported on Saturday that President Armando Guebuza signed into law a revised penal code bill that eases prohibitions in abortion regulations, a move hailed by health groups.
The new law specifies that abortions will have to be carried out in recognized and designated health centers by qualified practitioners.
Termination must be carried out within the first 12 weeks but in case of rape, the period is extended to 16 weeks and it will also be allowed when the pregnancy poses a serious risk to the health or life of the mother or in case of foetal abnormality.
According to the local media, the reform came after a decade of spirited lobbying by reproductive health advocates in Mozambique, where clandestine abortions are one of the leading causes of deaths among pregnant women and girls accounting for 11 percent of maternal deaths in the country.
