The case for the complete decriminalisation of abortion care in Nepal and beyond

IF 6.2 Q1 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES

The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia Pub Date : 2025-06-17 DOI:10.1016/j.lansea.2025.100616

Sabrina Germain , Mara Malagodi , Roshani Regmi , Radhika Saxena , Shivani Shinde

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Abstract

Our Viewpoint makes the case for the complete decriminalisation of abortion in Nepal (and beyond) as a key strategy to removing barriers to abortion care. The criminal framing of abortion—even if subject to exceptions—creates legal barriers to accessing abortion, which then compound socio-cultural and medical barriers. Nepal represents fertile ground for abortion law reform centred on complete decriminalisation due to its pioneering constitutional approach to sexual and reproductive health rights. However, even in Nepal's liberal context, the enduring partial criminalisation of abortion hinders abortion access, especially for historically marginalised groups and in remote areas. This Viewpoint recommends complete decriminalisation in Nepal and South and Southeast Asian countries facing similar socio-legal barriers to abortion access. Our position as legal experts echoes calls for the complete decriminalisation of abortion by national and international medical professional bodies, which we hope will inform regional strategies to improve access to safe abortions.

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在尼泊尔和其他地方，堕胎护理完全非刑事化的案例

我们的观点认为，在尼泊尔（及其他地区），堕胎完全非刑事化是消除堕胎护理障碍的关键策略。堕胎的刑事框架——即使有例外——造成了获得堕胎的法律障碍，从而加剧了社会文化和医疗障碍。尼泊尔对性健康和生殖健康权利采取了开创性的宪法方针，因此是以完全非刑事化为中心的堕胎法改革的沃土。然而，即使在尼泊尔的自由背景下，对堕胎的部分刑事定罪也阻碍了堕胎的获得，特别是对历史上被边缘化的群体和偏远地区。本观点建议在尼泊尔以及面临类似堕胎社会法律障碍的南亚和东南亚国家完全将堕胎合法化。我们作为法律专家的立场赞同国家和国际医疗专业机构将堕胎完全非刑事化的呼吁，我们希望这将为改善获得安全堕胎机会的区域战略提供信息。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia

CiteScore

2.20

自引率

0.00%

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