In Malawi, abortion is only legal to save the life of the mother. Abortion is a felony punishable by prison. Malawi's abortion law is one of the strictest in the world.
Malawi's penal code, introduced in 1930, bans abortion. Since the 1990s, reproductive health organisations have been active in the country. In 2010, the international non-governmental organization Ipas formed a coalition that lobbied for abortion law reform. In 2012, the Ministry of Health under President Joyce Banda formed a commission that proposed the Termination of Pregnancy Bill. The bill would allow abortions in the cases of rape, risk to health, or birth defects. Attempts for it to be reviewed by the National Assembly in 2016 and 2021 were rejected.
Most abortions in Malawi are unsafe. They are performed by traditional healers or covert clinics or are self-induced. Post-abortion care is available in free public facilities and other facilities. Post-abortion care uses dilation and curettage more frequently than manual vacuum aspiration, despite national and international guidelines recommending the latter.