Position paper on the legal implications of the guidelines for clinical decision making when pregnancy places a woman’s life at risk

Abortion in Uganda is largely restricted and only permitted for the preservation of a woman’s life. Uganda also has criminal sanctions within the Penal Code Act, Cap 120 which criminalizes the supply of abortifacients, as well as assisting a woman to have an abortion and the woman conducting the process to have an abortion. However, there is no clear definition of the circumstances that fit the criteria of “preservation of the mother’s life”, which would guide health workers to perform legally accepted abortions.

In 2018 Fòs Feminista, Women’s Link Worldwide and Iniciativas Sanitarias developed guidelines for clinical decision-making when pregnancy places the woman’s life at risk, with a focus on the Latin American and Caribbean setting. These are potentially applicable in countries with restrictive laws on abortion. This position paper seeks to analyze these guidelines, to see if the same can be applied in Uganda’s context.

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