InBurundi,abortion isillegal except in cases of risk to life or health. Illegal abortions are punishable by prison or fines. The country's abortion law is based onthat of France and was changed in 1981 to add a requirement that social factors be considered when prosecuting abortion cases. In the 2010s and 2020s, activists have supported abortion reform in response to high rates of illegal abortion andrape; other activists, as well as an ambassador, have supported the existing law. Most abortions in the country are illegal, eitherself-induced or provided byfolk healers or unauthorized medical providers.Unsafe abortion is common.
Thepenal code of Burundi prohibits abortion. Article 511 removes criminal penalties if the pregnancy poses a threat to the life or health of the mother.[1] Such an abortion must be performed by a physician and have the written approval of another physician.[1][2] It does not specify agestational limit.[1] The law requires that prosecution of abortions account for the pregnant woman's social condition,[3] which may classify it as permitting abortions on socioeconomic grounds.[4] According to theGuttmacher Institute, this provision exists to account for particular cultural practices.[5]
The penal code punishes providing, receiving, or inciting an illegal abortion with a prison sentence of one to two years and a fine of 20,000 to 50,000francs. The sentence is increased to twenty years if the procedure is fatal. Medical professionals who illegally provide abortions face an increased sentence of two to five years and 50,000 to 500,000 francs.[1] Burundi has not ratified theMaputo Protocol, which provides a right to abortion, as of 2016[update].[6]
Burundi's abortion law is based onthat of France and contains some phrasing from theFrench Penal Code of 1810.[7] In the nineteenth century, the abortions usingquinine were documented in the region.[8] Burundi's abortion law was enacted in 1981, adding the provision for the consideration of social conditions.[9]
During theBurundian Civil War,United Nations aid workers began providingreproductive health services in 1996, but they did not provide abortions.[10]Burundi's healthcare system deteriorated in the aftermath of the war. Many maternal health workers considered this to result in an increase inunsafe abortion and abortion death, according to a 2015 study.[11] The Association of Women fighting against HIV/AIDS and Malaria (SFBSLP), a Burundianadvocacy group, has campaigned for the legalization of abortion on certain grounds, noting the rate of illegal abortions.[12] The country's high rate of rape in the 2010s also ledwomen's rights groups to advocate for legal abortion for rape victims. Other activists—such as the president of the National Federation of Associations Defending Children's Rights, Jacques Nshimirimana—supported the existing ban, saying it defendsfetal rights.[13] At a meeting of theUnited Nations General Assembly in December 2024, the ambassador of Burundi, Zéphyrin Maniratanga, voiced support for the country's abortion ban and condemned the UN's promotion ofsexual and reproductive health, saying, "We do not agree that abortion can be characterized as safe."[14]
In 2015–2019, Burundi had an estimated annual rate of 582,000 abortions, comprising 26% ofunintended pregnancies or 11% of all pregnancies. The abortion rate had decreased by 39% since 1990–1994, when the proportion of unintended pregnancies that resulted in abortion had been 18%.[15]
SFBSLP reported in 2015 that 93% of abortions in the country are illegal.[12] According to SFBSLP's chair, Esperance Ntirampeba, the requirement for approval of two physicians is difficult to meet, motivating illegal abortions.[6] The group reported in 2016 that illegal abortions were becoming increasingly common, based on data from health centers in the provinces ofBubanza,Bujumbura City,Bujumbura Rural, andCibitoke. It reported that Bujumbura City had the highest incidence, with 286 cases in August 2016.[6] A 2017 study atKabezi Hospital found that 61% of emergency obstetric surgical procedures were caused by abortions, indicating a high rate of abortion complications.[16]
According to SFBSLP's Joséphine Muhigirwa Ciza, legal abortions are provided at hospitals usingabortion medications orvacuum aspiration, while illegal abortions are provided byfolk healers, who charge 20,000 to 30,000 francs (11 to 17 euros), or by medical professionals, who charge over 200,000 francs (110 euros), as of 2015[update]. Ciza also said that women commonly performself-induced abortions by consuming unsafe medications, inserting sharp objects into the vagina, or inserting chemicals from chilis orcassava stems.[12] A belief exists that benevolent folk healers,umupfumu, can induce "temporary" abortions to enable a pregnant woman to wait for acceptable social conditions to have a baby.[17]
