Spotlight on Uganda’s abortion laws

US President Joe Biden last month reversed the so-called ‘Global Gag Rule’, a 2017 executive order by former President Donald Trump. The rule revived and expanded an older US policy forbidding NGOs that receive US funding from providing, or advocating, access to abortions. In an Aspen Voices analysis, Deborah Nakatudde notes that this decision gives the Uganda Government, which is partly dependent on donor funding, an opportunity to access more funding from the international community for reproductive rights and care. ‘With this support, Uganda can create its own clear abortion laws and policies and raise awareness – especially among medical workers and in the legal system, so that we can save the lives of women who might otherwise die from unsafe practices. We as Ugandans may feel afraid to talk about abortions because of our values and beliefs, but the bottom line is that coming up with clear laws and policies is not the same as actively promoting abortion.’ According to the 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, more than four in 10 births in the country are unplanned. Uganda’s pregnancy rate is among the highest globally and this is attributed to the low uptake of family planning methods. Most unintended pregnancies result in two main outcomes: unplanned births or abortion. ‘