Expanding access to safe abortion in DRC: charting the path from decriminalisation to accessible care
AbstractAccess to safe and comprehensive abortion care has the potential to save thousands of lives and prevent significant injury in a vast and populous country such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the signing of the Maputo Protocol in 2003 strengthened the case for accessible...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2023.2273893 |
| _version_ | 1797629371698118656 |
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| author | Annie L. Glover Jean-Claude Mulunda Pierre Akilimali Dynah Kayembe Jane T. Bertrand |
| author_facet | Annie L. Glover Jean-Claude Mulunda Pierre Akilimali Dynah Kayembe Jane T. Bertrand |
| author_sort | Annie L. Glover |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | AbstractAccess to safe and comprehensive abortion care has the potential to save thousands of lives and prevent significant injury in a vast and populous country such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the signing of the Maputo Protocol in 2003 strengthened the case for accessible abortion care across the African continent, the DRC has grappled with de jure ambiguity resulting in de facto confusion about women’s ability to access safe, legal abortion care for the past two decades. Conflicting laws and the legacy of the colonial penal code created ambiguity and uncertainty that has just recently been resolved through medical and legal advocacy oriented towards facilitating an enabling policy environment that supports reproductive healthcare. A study of the complex – and frequently contradictory – pathway from criminalised abortion to legalisation that DRC has taken from ratification of the protocol in 2008 to passage of the 2018 Public Health Law and subsequent Ministry of Health guidelines for abortion care, is an instructive case study for the international sexual health and reproductive rights community. Through this analysis, health and legal advocates can better understand the interdependence of law and public health and how a comprehensive approach to advocacy that includes legal, systems, and clinical accessibility can transform a country’s system of care and the protection of women’s rights. In DRC, new legislation and service delivery guidelines demonstrate a path forward towards concrete improvements for safe abortion care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:53:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd6bbb2ecea646b4a6699e6333828297 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2641-0397 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T10:53:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd6bbb2ecea646b4a6699e63338282972023-11-13T14:19:27ZengTaylor & Francis GroupSexual and Reproductive Health Matters2641-03972023-12-0131110.1080/26410397.2023.2273893Expanding access to safe abortion in DRC: charting the path from decriminalisation to accessible careAnnie L. Glover0Jean-Claude Mulunda1Pierre Akilimali2Dynah Kayembe3Jane T. Bertrand4Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of International Health & Sustainable Development, Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA; Fellow, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health Fogarty Global Health Center.Country Director, Ipas, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoProfessor, Kinshasa School of Public Health & Kinshasa School of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoField Coordinator, Kinshasa School of Public Health & Kinshasa School of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoProfessor, School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine Department of Health Policy & Management, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USAAbstractAccess to safe and comprehensive abortion care has the potential to save thousands of lives and prevent significant injury in a vast and populous country such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the signing of the Maputo Protocol in 2003 strengthened the case for accessible abortion care across the African continent, the DRC has grappled with de jure ambiguity resulting in de facto confusion about women’s ability to access safe, legal abortion care for the past two decades. Conflicting laws and the legacy of the colonial penal code created ambiguity and uncertainty that has just recently been resolved through medical and legal advocacy oriented towards facilitating an enabling policy environment that supports reproductive healthcare. A study of the complex – and frequently contradictory – pathway from criminalised abortion to legalisation that DRC has taken from ratification of the protocol in 2008 to passage of the 2018 Public Health Law and subsequent Ministry of Health guidelines for abortion care, is an instructive case study for the international sexual health and reproductive rights community. Through this analysis, health and legal advocates can better understand the interdependence of law and public health and how a comprehensive approach to advocacy that includes legal, systems, and clinical accessibility can transform a country’s system of care and the protection of women’s rights. In DRC, new legislation and service delivery guidelines demonstrate a path forward towards concrete improvements for safe abortion care.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2023.2273893abortionMaputo ProtocolDemocratic Republic of the Congofamily planninglegalisation |
| spellingShingle | Annie L. Glover Jean-Claude Mulunda Pierre Akilimali Dynah Kayembe Jane T. Bertrand Expanding access to safe abortion in DRC: charting the path from decriminalisation to accessible care Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters abortion Maputo Protocol Democratic Republic of the Congo family planning legalisation |
| title | Expanding access to safe abortion in DRC: charting the path from decriminalisation to accessible care |
| title_full | Expanding access to safe abortion in DRC: charting the path from decriminalisation to accessible care |
| title_fullStr | Expanding access to safe abortion in DRC: charting the path from decriminalisation to accessible care |
| title_full_unstemmed | Expanding access to safe abortion in DRC: charting the path from decriminalisation to accessible care |
| title_short | Expanding access to safe abortion in DRC: charting the path from decriminalisation to accessible care |
| title_sort | expanding access to safe abortion in drc charting the path from decriminalisation to accessible care |
| topic | abortion Maputo Protocol Democratic Republic of the Congo family planning legalisation |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/26410397.2023.2273893 |
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