A study by the Ministry of Health, the National University of Rwanda’s School of Public Health and the US-based Guttmacher Institute released in March has found that the country’s abortion rate is currently at 25 abortions per 1,000 females aged between 15 and 44.

The study also revealed that over 60,000 pregnancies are terminated in Rwanda every year even though abortion remains illegal in the country.

The Rwandan civil society continues to push for full abortion rights despite recent amendments to the law allowing the procedure under specified conditions.

They have petitioned the head of state not to sign the reviewed penal code until the conditions deemed to still be harsh, are revised.

Anne Kamanzi, 22, (not her real name), is a victim of an abortion gone wrong, two years ago in Uganda’s capital Kampala.

“I discovered that I was pregnant in 2009. My boyfriend gave me Rwf200,000 ($335) to help me. I first went to a clinic in Kacyiru called Izere Health Centre but I was not convinced by the methods there,” Ms Kamanzi says.

The clinic was closed in 2011 after it was discovered that an 18 year old went into comma after a botched abortion.

The 22 year-old said that upon arrival in Kampala, she was directed to a clinic in a Kampala suburb known as Makindye. The clinic charged her Rwf 75,000 ($502) which was affordable.

“The first attempt using a mixture of chemicals did not work and then the doctor told me the next process would be an ‘operation’. I don’t remember most of the things the doctor did because I fainted in the process due to too much pain,” she said.

Her story is similar to that of dozens of girls, according to research on the state of abortion in Rwanda carried out by the Young Action Movement — a group of young people advocating for sexual reproductive health and rights of young people —under the auspices of the Family Planning Association of Rwanda (Arbef).

Arbef is a local non-profit organisation established in 1987 to promote sexual reproductive health and rights and is a full member association of the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

The study titled Booklet of Personal Stories is aimed at raising public debate around the topic of abortion.

According to Chantal Umuhoza, Arbef project co-ordinator of Safe Abortion Action Fund, the study was developed in consultation and through interviews with young people in six universities across the country.

“The study was aimed at finding out the reality of unsafe abortion, which remains a concern among young Rwandan women. We were also trying to determine the magnitude of the problem because there has been no proper research about it,” Ms Umuhoza said.

According to the research, the problem is worst among girls aged 10-24.

“Some are often thrown out of their homes and those who are in schools are dismissed when they get pregnant,” the research said.

The abortion law in Rwanda is very restrictive and it blocks the development of initiatives related to abortion services.

It further shows that a large number of girls, especially in universities where unintended pregnancies occur more often, undergo unbearable pain trying to terminated the unwanted pregnancy. The same group is faced with a problem of lack of access to emergency contraceptives.

Activists argue that giving women full rights to undergo abortions would save lives.

“With fear of financial difficulties in raising the child, health and social problems, the need for abortion increases. Being denied safe abortion services, young women resort to unsafe means such as traditional herbs to abort pregnancies,” the research further says.

“This results in various complications and abortion-related morbidity and mortality for young women while the men get off scot free,” it further adds.

According to Cassien Havugimana, the programme manager of Health Development Initiative, another NGO advocating for rights of women, the newly amended penal code, despite stipulating conditions under which abortions are permitted, will not help women.

“This is why we have petitioned the president. The clause that says the decision to carry out an abortion has to be made by a court and two doctors makes the process even more complicated,” Mr Havugimana told Rwanda Today.

Parliament in April passed the amendments to the draft penal code — article 165 permitting abortion aided by a medical doctor, only if the pregnancy is a result of incest, rape, forced marriage or if the pregnancy is likely to endanger the mother’s, baby’s life or both.

Abortion remains illegal in Rwanda, punishable by between five months and six years imprisonment if not carried out under the four stipulated clauses in the penal code.

According to Mr Havugimana, the process remains long and complicated and could render the person a victim of trauma and stigma because she has to undergo public scrutiny to ascertain if an abortion can be permitted.

Shortly after passing the amendments, Speaker of parliament Rose Mukantabana told the press that the MPs considered the fact that the state cannot permit “easy termination of life”.

She noted that even courts and doctors will have to “carefully” assess the situation before a legal abortion is accorded.

Religious leaders have put up a spirited fight against the decriminalisation of abortion.

Tom Mulisa, a human rights lawyer and activist for the decriminalisation of abortion, said abortion is rampant among university students.

“You have a student who is financially strapped faced with a pregnancy and the possibility of being dismissed from the campus, what is the best option available? Abortion and using the cheapest means available,” Mr Mulisa says.

Mr Mulisa also said the study revealed that most students cannot afford morning-after pills, which are the most used contraceptives among youth who don’t use condoms. The single tablet costs about Rwf15,000.

Activists argue that full abortion rights would reduce the current number of unsafe abortions, where about 40 per cent lead to medical complications and often death.

According to police figures, 89 cases of abortions were registered in 2010, 115 cases in 2011 while 59 cases have been registered since the beginning of this year.

Police Spokesperson Supt Theos Badege, said that the police arrest and press charges against both the person who carried out the abortion and the person who assisted it.

“It is usually very difficult to get information on where abortion is being carried but when we are tipped off, we swoop and arrest the culprits. People have lost their lives during this crude act, which is up to now illegal,” Mr Badege said.

A doctor who spoke on anonymity told Rwanda Today that despite the current legislation, safe abortions are available in Rwanda, but can only be afforded by the rich. A safe procedure costs between Rwf500,000 ($837) and Rwf1 million ($1,675).