The Cost of Criminalization: Accessing Safe Abortion in Sri Lanka

At present, abortion is a criminal offence under the penal code in Sri Lanka. It is legally accessible only under life-saving circumstances. As in many similar settings, abortion services are available at a steep cost to those who can afford to pay. This chapter describes the emotional and financial costs to women in accessing safe abortion services in an environment of criminalization using case studies of three women with unwanted pregnancies that they sought to terminate. The monologue at the beginning provides an insight into how illegal clinics operate and the fear and anxiety that women go through when accessing services. The first case study is of a domestic violence survivor from Kurunegala District in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. The second and third case studies are about the out-of-wedlock pregnancies of a teenager and a young woman from the Puttalam District and Anuradhapura District, respectively. The case studies illustrate the complex challenges and barriers individuals face when accessing abortion, including financial barriers, limited services, limited access to safe services, fear and stigma relating to abortion, lack of comprehensive medical support for complications and fatal consequences of unsafe abortions. They highlight the need for a comprehensive approach that prioritizes equity, accessibility and the rights of marginalized women and girls to make autonomous reproductive choices. The chapter situates access to abortion as a key part of reproductive justice and highlights the need for a holistic approach to address cross-cutting issues related to abortion, such as contraceptive use, pregnancy testing, mental health and sexuality education. The chapter also argues that the current push for relaxing the law in instances of rape, incest and congenital abnormalities will not provide the necessary succor for women in Sri Lanka who may require access to abortion services for many other reasons.