Susanne M. Klausen
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199844494
- eISBN:
- 9780190258122
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199844494.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History
The conclusion explains how progressive abortion law reform took place in South Africa after the downfall of apartheid. When the demise of apartheid appeared inevitable, feminists in the African ...
More
The conclusion explains how progressive abortion law reform took place in South Africa after the downfall of apartheid. When the demise of apartheid appeared inevitable, feminists in the African National Congress (ANC) Women’s League and civil society worked strategically to win recognition for women’s reproductive rights. They ultimately succeeded in having the newly elected ANC government pass one of the world’s most progressive abortion laws, the 1996 Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, which allows for abortion on demand without restriction as to reason but with gestational limits. The new law had an immediate positive effect: the annual number of abortion-related deaths soon fell dramatically. Yet today unsafe abortion continues to be a serious problem in South Africa, and the conclusion ends by examining the systemic reasons for this and the ongoing need for women’s liberation and reproductive justice.Less
The conclusion explains how progressive abortion law reform took place in South Africa after the downfall of apartheid. When the demise of apartheid appeared inevitable, feminists in the African National Congress (ANC) Women’s League and civil society worked strategically to win recognition for women’s reproductive rights. They ultimately succeeded in having the newly elected ANC government pass one of the world’s most progressive abortion laws, the 1996 Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, which allows for abortion on demand without restriction as to reason but with gestational limits. The new law had an immediate positive effect: the annual number of abortion-related deaths soon fell dramatically. Yet today unsafe abortion continues to be a serious problem in South Africa, and the conclusion ends by examining the systemic reasons for this and the ongoing need for women’s liberation and reproductive justice.
