BULAWAYO- Zimbabwe’s major Christian bodies have urged parliament to reject proposed changes to the Medical Services Bill that would significantly widen access to abortion, warning that the amendments threaten the country’s “moral foundations” and dismantle long-standing protections for unborn children.
In a pastoral letter dated November 29, 2025, the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHCD) said the proposals represent a “serious constitutional and moral challenge” for a nation that has always maintained tightly restricted abortion laws.
The letter lists several key concerns, including provisions allowing abortions on request for both adults and minors up to 20 weeks, permission for children to terminate pregnancies without parental knowledge, and the removal of spousal notification.
The groups also criticised broad “mental health” clauses that they fear could enable late-term or sex-selective abortions, as well as proposals allowing a single medical practitioner to approve most procedures.
ZHCD said the amendments could weaken reporting requirements, increase risks for women and girls, and allow abortions on the basis of disability.
“Our nation is facing a serious constitutional and moral challenge,” the letter reads. “These proposals threaten the constitutional framework that has until now protected unborn children.”
Under Zimbabwe’s current Termination of Pregnancy Act, abortion is only permitted in limited circumstances — such as rape, incest, severe fetal abnormalities or when the mother’s life is in danger. Efforts to widen access have been contentious for decades, with previous attempts blocked after strong resistance from churches, traditional leaders and conservative groups.
The ongoing review of the Medical Services Bill forms part of broader health-sector reforms, but civil society organisations and reproductive rights advocates have pressed for expanded reproductive health rights, arguing that restrictive laws fuel unsafe abortions.
The ministry of health has acknowledged rising cases of illegal terminations, especially among teenagers, but lawmakers remain deeply divided over how far reforms should go.
Zimbabwe’s restrictive abortion laws have not stemmed the demand for terminations. Instead, they have pushed the practice underground.
A 2024 public-health survey found that 219 pregnancies are terminated every day – roughly nine abortions per hour – many involving teenagers or young women with no access to safe services.
Unintended pregnancies remain high, with nearly 40 percent of all pregnancies between 2016 and 2017 classified as unplanned. More than a quarter of those ended in abortion.
The fallout from unwanted pregnancies also manifests in abandoned infants. Police recorded 63 baby-dumping cases in 2023, a figure experts warn is likely an undercount because many cases go unreported.
In their letter, the church groups urged Christians to lobby their MPs and push back against what they described as an attempt to “impose an overly broad liberalisation” of abortion.
“Our position is not political but theological,” they said, stressing that Zimbabwe’s cultural and spiritual values have always upheld the sanctity of life.
They appealed to believers to “stand firm in defending life,” pray for the nation’s leaders and oppose amendments they say are inconsistent with national values and constitutional protections.
The churches concluded by warning that adopting the proposed changes would “erode moral integrity and social stability.”
“May God guide our leaders, preserve our nation’s moral foundations, and bless Zimbabwe,” the pastoral letter ends.
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