ZAMBIA. Termination
of Pregnancy Act,
Section 1. This Act
may be cited
as the Termination of Pregnancy Act.
Section 2. In this
Act, unless
the context otherwise requires
--“hospital” means any institution run as such by
the
Government or any other institution approved in writing for the purpose
of
this Act by the Permanent secretary, Ministry of Health;
--“the law relating to abortion” means sections
151-153
of the Penal Code, and includes any written law or rule of law relating
to
the procurement of abortion;
--“registered medical practitioner” means a
medical practitioner
registered as such under the provisions of the Medical and Allied
Professions
Act.
Section 3. (1) Subject
to the
provisions of this section, a person shall not be guilty of an offence
under
the law relating to abortion when a pregnancy is terminated by a
registered
medical practitioner if he and two other registered medical
practitioners,
one of whom has specialised in the branch of medicine in which the
patient
is specifically required to be examined before a conclusion could be
reached
that the abortion should be recommended, are of the opinion, formed in
good
faith—
(a) that the
continuation of
the pregnancy would involve
(i) risk to the life of the pregnant woman; or
(ii) risk of injury to the physical or mental
health
of the pregnant woman; or
(iii) risk of injury to the physical or mental
health
of any existing children of the pregnant woman;
greater than if the pregnancy were terminated; or
(b) that there is a substantial risk that if the
child
were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as
to
be seriously handicapped.
(2) In determining
whether the
continuation of a pregnancy would involve such risk as is mentioned in
paragraph
(a) of subsection (1), account may be taken of the pregnant woman’s
actual
or reasonably foreseeable environment or of her age.
(3) Except as
provided by subsection
(4), any treatment for the termination of pregnancy must be carried out
in
a hospital.
(4) Subsection (3)
and so much
of subsection (1) as relates to the opinion of two registered medical
practitioners,
shall not apply to the termination of a pregnancy by a registered
medical
practitioner in a case where he is of the opinion, formed in good
faith,
that the termination of pregnancy is immediately necessary to save the
life
or to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health
of the
pregnant woman.
Section 4. (1)
Subject to subsection
(2), no person shall be under any duty, whether by contract or by any
statutory
or other legal requirement, to participate in any treatment authorised
by
this Act to which he has a conscientious objection:
Provided that in any legal proceedings the burden
of
proof of conscientious objection shall rest on the person claiming to
rely
on it.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect any
duty
to participate in any treatment which is necessary to save the life or
to
prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of a
pregnant
woman.
(3) In any proceedings before a court, a statement
on
oath by any person to the effect that he has a conscientious objection
to participating in any treatment authorised by this Act shall be
sufficient evidence for the purpose of discharging the burden of proof
imposed upon
him by subsection (1).
Section 5. (1) The
Minister may,
by statutory instrument, make regulations for the better carrying out
of
the provisions of this Act and, without prejudice to the generality of
the
foregoing, such regulation may make provision for—
(a) anything which is to be or which may be
prescribed
under this Act;
(b) requiring any such opinion as is referred to
in
section three to be certified by the registered medical practitioner
concerned
in such form and at such time as may be prescribed by the regulations;
(c) the preservation and disposal of certificates
made pursuant to the regulations;
(d) requiring any registered medical practitioner
who terminates a pregnancy to give notice of the termination of
pregnancy and
such other information relating to the termination of pregnancy as may
be prescribed;
(e) prohibiting the disclosure, except to such
persons
or for such purposes as may be prescribed, of notices given or
information furnished pursuant to the regulations.
(3) Any person who
willfully
contravenes or willfully fails to comply with the requirement of
regulations
made under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and on
conviction
shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred kwacha.
Section 6. For the
purpose of
the law relating to abortion, anything done with intent to procure the
miscarriage
of a woman is unlawfully done unless it is done in accordance with the
provisions
of the Act.
Termination of Pregnancy Regulations (Statutory
Instrument No. 219 of 1972).
Section 1. These
Regulations
may be cited as the Termination of Pregnancy Regulations.
Section 2. (1) Any
opinion to
which section 3 of the Act refers shall be certified in the appropriate
form
set out in the First Schedule.
(2) Any certificate of an opinion referred to in
subsection (1) of section three of the Act shall be given before the
commencement of
the treatment for the termination of pregnancy to which it relates.
(3) Any certificate of an opinion referred to in
subsection (4) of section three shall be given before the commencement
of the treatment for the termination of pregnancy to which it relates
or, if that is not reasonably
practicable, not later than twenty-four hours after such termination.
(4) Any such certificate as is referred to in
sub-regulations
(2) and (3) shall be preserved by the practitioner who terminated the
pregnancy
to which it relates for a period of three years beginning with the date
of
such termination and may then be destroyed.
Section 3. (1) Any
registered
medical practitioner who terminates a pregnancy anywhere in
(2) Any such notice and information as is referred
to
in sub-regulation (1) shall be sent in a sealed envelope marked
“Confidential”
to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health,
Section 4. A notice
given or
any information furnished to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of
Health,
in pursuance of these Regulations shall not be disclosed except that
disclosures
may be made—
(a) for the purposes of carrying out his duties,
to
an officer of the Ministry of Health authorised by the Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Health; or
(b) for the purposes of carrying out his duties in
relation to offences against the Act or the law relating to abortion,
to the Director
of Public Prosecutions or a member of his staff authorised by him; or
(c) for the purposes of investigating whether an
offence
has been committed against the Act or the law relating to abortion, to
a
police officer not below the rank of Assistant Superintendent or a
person
authorised by him; or
(d) for the purposes of criminal proceedings which
have begun;
(e) for the purposes of bona fide scientific
research;
or
(f) to the registered medical practitioner who
terminated the pregnancy; or
(g) to a registered medical practitioner, with the consent in writing of the woman whose pregnancy was terminated.