In Senegal, abortion is illegal unless the life of the mother is in danger. Senegal is one of the only countries whose criminal code completely bans abortion. An exception requires a medical certificate and the approval of three doctors. Illegal abortion is punishable by fines and prison. Nearly all abortions in the country are unsafe. Post-abortion care is widely available.
Abortion was banned in the colonial era. In 1967, an exception was made in the case of threat to life. After concerns about unsafe abortion as a public health crisis in the 1990s, Senegal ratified the International Conference on Population and Development and the Maputo Protocol. In 2005, the National Assembly declared that women have a right to post-abortion care. Efforts for this law to legalize abortion in the cases of rape or incest failed. In 2013, a group of NGOs called the Task Force formed with the goal of aligning Senegal's abortion law with the Maputo Protocol. The National Assembly considered a bill in 2024 that would guarantee legal access to medical abortion. International organizations have called for abortion law reform. Domestically, religious families and organizations influence widespread opposition to abortion due to Islamic beliefs.
Many women perform self-induced abortions. Abortion pills are available through the black market. Some medical professionals provide or advertise illegal abortions. Post-abortion care (PAC) has been available since the 1990s, for which Senegal is known as the "PAC pioneer of West Africa". The Ministry of Health promotes the use of manual vacuum aspiration or misoprostol for PAC. Curettage remains common, despite not being recommended, as MVA is often difficult to access. PAC providers sometimes report clients to legal authorities, but most maintain patient confidentiality by implicitly labeling abortions as miscarriages. Senegal has a high rate of infanticide, which is often attributed to the lack of legal abortion. In the 2010s and 2020s, many infant corpses have been discovered in landfills and other places. Women charged with infanticide comprise over one-third of all arrested women.
Legislation The criminal code of Senegal completely bans abortion. The code of medical ethics allows abortion when it is necessary to save a woman's life. A medical exception requires the approval of three doctors and a medical certificate costing 10,000 CFA francs. Giving advice about accessing abortion is a criminal offense. The United Nations Population Fund considers Senegal to have one of the strictest abortion laws in Africa. As of 2017, it is one of twenty abortion laws that completely bans abortion.
Public debate The public largely supports the ban on abortion due to social norms, religious beliefs, and the traditional large family structure. The government is secular yet influenced by powerful religious families. Legislators face pressure from religious leaders to hide support for abortion and fear losing political support. A 2020 survey by (, AJS) found that 58% of people in the country opposed medical abortion. Most said that it would be acceptable if the woman's health was threatened, but did not agree that it was acceptable in the case of rape.
The prominent Islamic NGO Jamra campaigns against abortion reform. Its spokesman, Mame Mactar Guèye, has said pro-abortion activists are controlled by Western donors against African values. Jamra and its allies have argued that Senegal has always supported abortion only if it threatens life, but feminists shift the discussion toward legalization. A collective of 48 Islamic organizations called () opposes pro-abortion advertising. Though some Islamic scholars in Senegal say abortion does not violate Islamic law, few of the prominent Islamic groups oppose anti-abortion movements. Health workers have pushed for access to birth control, which is allowed in Islamic law.
History Abortion was illegalized in the French period. In 1967, an exception was added allowing abortion if the life of the mother is in danger. In the 1990s, studies on the prevalence of unsafe abortions led to the public health community viewing abortion as a public health problem. Senegal ratified the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). In 2004, Senegal was one of the first ratifiers of the Maputo Protocol, which provides a right to abortion in the cases of rape, incest, or danger to the health of the mother or fetus. In 2014, the government formed a group of activists, lawyers, doctors, and MPs to align the penal code with this policy. The International Federation for Human Rights, with three other groups, drafted a proposal for a law that would align with the treaty. The AJS and the advocacy group J-GEN have advocated to align Senegal's abortion law with the treaty.
In 2005, the National Assembly passed a reproductive health bill entitling all women to family planning and obstetric care services, including post-abortion care. AJS and Ministry of Health (MOH) officials wanted the law to provide for abortion in the cases of rape or incest. This failed after some members of the National Assembly said they would withdraw support of the law if it included these provisions.
Organizations such as AJS and the Dakar-based Open Society Initiative for West Africa have worked to educate judges and politicians. Siggil Jigeen, a network of 18 women's rights groups, began discussions of legalizing abortion in July 2010, led by Fatou Kiné Camara of the University of Dakar and the AJS. Since 2008, the AJS has run a free drop-in center in Dakar that provides advice and trauma counseling and trains paralegals to help provide justice. On International Women's Day 2011, () gave a presentation urging abortion law reform.
A report written in November 2014 by the NGOs International Federation for Human Rights, African Meeting for the Defense of Human Rights, and Senegalese League of Human Rights called for legislation on safe abortion. Multiple United Nations bodies have advised that Senegal decriminalize abortion: Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in July 2015 and the Committee on the Rights of the Child in March 2016. In 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Committee urged Senegal to legalize abortion as well as homosexuality.
During the presidency of Macky Sall, some supporters of abortion had hoped he would support legalization of abortion, while others were skeptical. In 2015, Sall said he may eventually support legalizing abortion in the cases of rape and incest. In January 2017, the League of Senegalese Ulama declared a fatwa against politicians supporting legalization. In 2020, only 20 of the 165 members of parliament supported it. Pro-abortion activists then paused activities for a few months.
Proposed medication abortion law (2024) On 6 November 2013, the Task Force, which included eighteen organizations, published a petition to uphold the protocol. They argued that illegal abortion amplified inequality between women who could afford abortions from gynecologists and those who could not. AJS is part of this task force. Camara, as president of AJS, led a campaign to legalize medical abortion unconditionally up to twelve weeks of pregnancy.
Moustapha Diakhaté, head of the United in Hope party, voiced support for a law allowing medication abortion, saying it would decrease arrests and deaths. He worked with AJS to speak with politicians and civil society groups. The Task Force conducted a study on women incarcerated for abortion in 2022. In February 2023, the Task Force and Planned Parenthood led a discussion urging the president to bring the law in line with the Maputo Protocol. In Parliament, Diakhaté and Sokhna Ba supported their goal to decrease abortion-related incarceration.
On 2 February 2024, the National Assembly met to discuss medical abortion reform. The director of the advocacy committee for access to medical abortion in the cases of rape and incest, Aissatou Ndiaye, spoke about the importance of such a provision. Mame Guèye Diop, president of the National Assembly's Health Commission, said it was a "great occasion to review the legal outlines of reproductive health in Senegal, particularly medical abortion." J-GEN voiced its support for the advocacy.
The Task Force ran a campaign to gain the support of religious authorities but received strong opposition. It responded to religious backlash in a 2021 press release maintaining that it was "not about legalizing abortion" but that its goal was to save lives. The Caliph of the Tijaniyyah of Tivaouane, Serigne Babacar Sy, told the Minister of Interior he opposed the medication abortion reform. The League of Imams issued a statement opposing the law. Jamra was a major opponent. The Task Force spoke to Senegal's major religious families and gained support from many of them.
Prevalence In 2015–2019, there were 57,900 abortions in Senegal. Since 1990–1994, the unintended pregnancy had gone down 34%, and the share of unintended pregnancies resulting in abortion went from 17% to 25%. The abortion rate is 17 per 1,000 women, as of 2012. Dakar has the highest rate in the country, at 21 per 1,000 women. As of 2022, unsafe abortions are the fifth-leading cause of maternal mortality and comprise 50% of urgent maternity care. As of 2012, 5.5 per 1000 women of reproductive age experience abortion complications.
Methods Nearly all abortions in Senegal are unsafe. As of 2012, 38% by are performed by untrained providers (including traditional healers), 21% are self-induced, 20% are by nurses or midwives, 17% are by doctors, and 4% are from pharmacies. The most common methods are drinking corrosives, drinking herbal mixtures, and surgical procedures. Though abortions by trained health professionals are safer than those that are not, they must work secretly, which increases risk. Complications are present in 22% of abortions performed by doctors and 35% of those by nurses and midwives. Gynecologists risk their careers to provide abortions. The Ministries of Health and Social Action have noted the commercialization of illegal abortions through online advertising. In 2022, a Facebook page advertised abortions for 27,000 francs.
Self-induced abortions are punishable by a fine of 50,000 to 1,000,000 francs and a prison sentence of six months to two years. Some women induce abortions with plants such as mbanté-maré, chemicals such as methylene blue, bleach, or wire. Some women punch themselves in the stomach or throw themselves off of stairs. Self-induced abortions have become more common since the internet has enabled women to find information about it. A pharmaceutical black market in Dakar's city center, Keur Serigne Bi, is a popular place to buy abortion pills. Customers can buy pills within minutes. The pills cost between 10,000 and 25,000 francs, and some are fake. Some women receive pills from pharmacies that do not work.
Societal factors Abortion is stigmatized as the society values women's fertility. Women who seek abortions experience harassment and violence. Abortion is widely seen as a women's issue that is not a high priority. Its association with women's sexuality contributes to another taboo. Authors such as Mariama Bâ and Ken Bugul have written against the abortion stigma.