Abortion
Arts 123 to 126 of Law N° 68/2018 determining offences and penalties in general (Official Gazette Special of 27/09/2018) create the offences and the exemptions, art 123 having been rewritten by Law N° 059/2023 (Official Gazette Special of 05/12/2023), and Ministerial Order N° 002/MoH/2019 of 08/04/2019, published in Official Gazette no. 14 of the same day, sets the conditions under which a medical doctor may perform an abortion. The Order defines abortion as the induced termination of a pregnancy under circumstances determined by law, and 'health' as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (art 2). A news item of the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion presents the 2018 law as easing earlier rules that required a court certificate in forced-marriage and incest cases and caused delays.
A person who self-induces an abortion or who, contrary to the law, consents to an abortion faces one to three years' imprisonment and a fine of FRW 100,000 to 200,000 (art 123 as rewritten in 2023, which added the consent wording and kept the 2018 penalties). Anyone who performs an abortion on another person faces three to five years (art 124); causing an abortion through negligence or carelessness carries one to two years and a fine of FRW 300,000 to 500,000, or one of the two; where the abortion causes a disability certified by a competent doctor the term is 20 to 25 years, and where it causes death, whether or not the person consented, life imprisonment (art 124). Art 125 provides that there is no criminal liability where the abortion was performed because the pregnant person is a child, the pregnancy resulted from rape, followed a forced marriage or resulted from incest up to the second degree, or the pregnancy puts at risk the health of the pregnant person or of the foetus; a recognised medical doctor performs it, and a person who is later shown to have applied with no legal basis is punished as for a self-induced abortion.
The Order lists the same five grounds (art 3) and says the person requesting an abortion need not produce evidence of the ground, apart from the health ground (art 11); a person who gave false information is liable under the law. Except where the pregnancy puts health at risk, it cannot be performed beyond 22 weeks (art 4), and only in a public or private facility that the Minister of Health has licensed as a hospital or polyclinic (art 5). Before acting the doctor must hold comprehensive counselling and a clinical assessment (art 7); the person gives written consent after full explanations (art 8) and may go to the accredited facility of her choice without presenting a medical transfer (art 9); the doctor and the facility must respect confidentiality (art 10). Where the ground is risk to health, at least two doctors, one an obstetrician-gynaecologist, must confirm the risk, the person must consent personally in writing and a written report in two copies, signed by the doctor and the person, is given to her and kept by the facility (art 11).
For a child, the application is made by the persons with parental authority after they agree; if they disagree among themselves or with the child, the child's wish prevails, and the application goes to a recognised doctor with the child's birth certificate (Penal Code art 126; Order art 6). A child or a person with a mental disability gives written consent through the legal representative, and if the representative refuses, the child's consent is considered (Order art 8). A 'recognised medical doctor' holds at least a bachelor's degree in medicine, is registered and licensed by a health-profession regulatory body in Rwanda and works in a public or private facility (art 2). The English text of art 125(5) of the Penal Code reads 'health', whereas the French text of the same gazette reads 'la vie' (life). The Code was drafted and adopted in Ikinyarwanda (art 333), and its Kinyarwanda text uses 'ubuzima', a word the same Code also uses for a whole lifetime in defining life imprisonment (art 29); the Order repeats that Kinyarwanda phrase and renders it 'health' in English and 'santé' in French.
The only national study found, by the National University of Rwanda's School of Public Health and the Guttmacher Institute with the Ministry of Health, concerns 2009, before the 2018 and 2019 changes: it estimated about 60,000 induced abortions, 25 per 1,000 women of reproductive age or about one woman in 40 aged 15 to 44, and 25,000 women, more than 40% of those who had an abortion, with complications requiring medical treatment, 30% of whom did not get the care they needed (Guttmacher release of 26 March 2012).
Key points
| Self-induced abortion, or consent to an unlawful one | 1 to 3 years' imprisonment and a fine of FRW 100,000 to 200,000 (Penal Code, art 123 as rewritten in 2023) |
|---|---|
| Abortion on another person | 3 to 5 years; negligence causing an abortion: 1 to 2 years and FRW 300,000 to 500,000 or one of them (art 124) |
| Resulting disability or death | Certified disability: 20 to 25 years; death: life imprisonment (art 124) |
| Grounds without criminal liability | Pregnant child; rape; forced marriage; incest up to the second degree; risk to the health of the pregnant person or foetus (art 125) |
| Who performs it | A recognised medical doctor, in a public or private facility licensed as a hospital or polyclinic (art 125; Order, arts 2 and 5) |
| Time limit | 22 weeks, except where the pregnancy puts health at risk (Order, art 4) |
| Proof of the ground | Not required, except for the health ground; false information makes the person liable (Order, art 3) |
| Health ground | Confirmation by 2 doctors including an obstetrician-gynaecologist, personal written consent and a written report in two copies (Order, art 11) |
| Pregnant child | Application by those with parental authority after agreeing; the child's wish prevails in a disagreement (art 126; Order, art 6) |
In practice
- Go to an accredited public or private hospital or polyclinic of your choice: the Order lets you receive the service there without a medical transfer or referral document (art 9).
- Expect comprehensive counselling and a clinical assessment first, then written consent after a full explanation (arts 7 and 8).
- If the person is a child, the legal representatives apply together and bring her birth certificate showing the date of birth; if they refuse or disagree, her own wish prevails (art 126 of the Penal Code; Order, arts 6 and 8).
- Where the ground is risk to health, keep your copy of the two-copy written report signed by the doctor and by you, or by your legal representative (Order, art 11).
- Rely on the confidentiality duty the Order places on the doctor and the facility (art 10).
Cost and coverage
None of the sources opened sets a fee or a price for these services.
Recent changes
Law N° 059/2023 rewrote art 123 in December 2023 without changing its penalties, and the Ministerial Order has applied since its publication on 8 April 2019. In the 2025 Demographic and Health Survey, women reported that less than 1% of pregnancies ending in the three years before the survey were induced abortions; the only national estimate of incidence, Guttmacher's, dates from 2009.
Where to go
- Public or private hospitals and polyclinics licensed for this by the Minister of Health (Order, art 5).
- A recognised medical doctor registered and licensed by a health-profession regulatory body in Rwanda (Order, art 2).
Worth knowing
Applying with no legal basis is punished like a self-induced abortion (Penal Code, art 125; Order, art 3), and since 2023 art 123 also reaches a person who consents to an abortion contrary to the law; the 2019 amending law did not touch arts 123 to 126.
Frequently asked questions
Is abortion legal in Rwanda?
It is an offence (arts 123 and 124 of the Penal Code), except on the five grounds in art 125: the pregnant person is a child, rape, forced marriage, incest up to the second degree, or risk to the health of the pregnant person or the foetus. A recognised doctor performs it under Ministerial Order 002/MoH/2019, within 22 weeks unless health is at risk.
Does a pregnant girl need her parents' consent?
The persons with parental authority apply for a child after agreeing; if they disagree among themselves or with her, her wish prevails, and if the legal representative refuses to give the written consent, the child's consent is considered (Penal Code, art 126; Order, arts 6 and 8). A child is a person below the age of majority, 18 (Law nº 71/2024, art 104).
What is the time limit?
22 weeks of gestation, except where the pregnancy puts the health of the pregnant person or the foetus at risk (Order, art 4).
Sources
- Law N° 68/2018 of 30/08/2018 determining offences and penalties in general, Official Gazette Special of 27/09/2018 (trilingual; FAOLEX copy) — arts 29, 123 to 126 and 333 (English, French and Kinyarwanda columns compared for art 125(5))
- Law N° 059/2023 of 04/12/2023 amending Law N° 68/2018 determining offences and penalties in general, Official Gazette Special of 05/12/2023 -- gazette copy archived by Gazettes.Africa — art 12: art 123 rewritten (self-induced abortion or consent to abortion)
- Law N° 69/2019 of 08/11/2019 amending Law N° 68/2018 determining offences and penalties in general, Official Gazette Special of 29/11/2019 -- Ministry of Justice copy — list of the articles amended in 2019 (arts 123 to 126 not among them)
- Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey 2025 (2025 RDHS) -- Final Report (National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda and Ministry of Health) — section 5.9: pregnancy outcomes in the 3 years before the survey, induced abortions under 1%
- Ministerial Order N° 002/MoH/2019 of 08/04/2019 determining conditions to be satisfied for a medical doctor to perform an abortion, Official Gazette no. 14 of 08/04/2019 (Ministry of Health copy) — arts 2 to 11 (English column of the gazette)
- Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, news item "Rwanda reviewed sanctions for child defilement cases and abortion procedures" — statement that the 2018 law eased earlier rules requiring a court certificate in forced-marriage and incest cases
- Guttmacher Institute, news release "First-ever national study on abortion in Rwanda released" (26 March 2012), on Basinga et al., Studies in Family Planning, March 2012 — 2009 incidence and complications (Basinga et al., Studies in Family Planning, March 2012)
- Law nº 71/2024 of 26/06/2024 governing persons and family, Official Gazette Special of 30/07/2024 (trilingual gazette, English column; Ministry of Justice copy) — art 104: age of majority 18
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