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Zambian Woman Freed After Seven-Year Sentence for Self-Induced Abortion
Zulu was denied legal abortion services and sentenced after self-inducing; her case highlights barriers faced by many women with unsafe abortions in Africa, where 75% are unsafe, WHO says.
- A woman in Zambia was freed last month after a seven-year sentence for self-induced abortion, following an appeal by rights groups.
- Abandonment by a partner left Zulu unable to feed her two young sons, and a public clinic in Zambia turned her away while a private pharmacy requested 800 Zambian kwacha .
- Acting alone, Zulu drank an herbal mixture to end the pregnancy, delivered in a toilet, disposed of the fetus in a stream, was reported by her neighbors, and represented herself at the court without legal counsel.
- She spent nearly two years apart from her children during incarceration, and her case drew little national sympathy; Zulu's mother agreed with the sentence but said it should have been shorter, while Zambia's health ministry did not respond.
- Only a small share of Zambia's public health facilities offer abortion services, where studies estimate just 7% provide them, while regional data show over 6 million unsafe abortions occur annually in Africa, highlighting access gaps, advocates say.
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45 Articles
Associated Press News+43 Reposted by 43 other sources
She was denied a legal abortion and sent to prison over an illegal one. Now she tells her story
A young woman in Zambia was sent to a maximum-security prison after she was denied a legal abortion and ended her pregnancy on her own.
·United States
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Woman denied legal abortion sent to maximum-security prison after illegally terminating pregnancy
She says she was let down at every step. By a partner who abandoned her when she was pregnant. By a health service that denied her a legal abortion. And by a justice system that sent her to a maximum-security prison for illegally terminating her pregnancy on her own. Violet Zulu, a house cleaner…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources45
Leaning Left11Leaning Right1Center26Last UpdatedBias Distribution68% Center
Bias Distribution
- 68% of the sources are Center
68% Center
L 29%
C 68%
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