A 16-year-old girl who secretly terminated a pregnancy 15 years ago after her boyfriend refused to take responsibility says the experience continues to haunt her, highlighting the dangers faced by girls who struggle to access safe reproductive healthcare.
The woman, identified as Chipo to protect her identity, said she feared being judged and dropping out of school. After trying several methods, she eventually used a stick from an indigenous tree to terminate the pregnancy.
"I inserted a stick of an indigenous tree to my privates after trying other things including washing powder," she said.
She bled heavily for more than a week and was left with complications that she says still affect her, including difficulty with bowel movements. Now a mother of two, she said the experience remains a daily source of regret, and she wishes Zimbabwe would prioritise access to safe, legal abortion.
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Chipo said she did not tell her mother because she feared worsening her medical condition and traumatising her.
Her experience was shared during a media engagement in Harare on Friday as reproductive-health advocates and legal experts discussed Zimbabwe's abortion laws, particularly access for children.
Health Law and Policy Consortium board chairperson Tinashe Mundawarara said the Constitution and health laws provide protections that should enable children to access healthcare, including in circumstances involving pregnancy resulting from unlawful sexual intercourse.
"It is very important to engage media personnel, particularly on the subject of access to abortion for children," Mundawarara said.
"Every child pregnancy in this country is a result of unlawful sexual intercourse," he said, arguing that children under 18 cannot legally consent to sexual intercourse.
Mundawarara said abortion access for children should be considered in light of constitutional protections for their best interests and right to health, noting that pregnancy can disrupt education and expose young girls to health complications.
He said the Health Services Amendment Act of 2026 had strengthened protections for children seeking sexual and reproductive health services and removed parental involvement requirements for accessing such services.
He also said a November 2024 High Court judgment had included child pregnancy among circumstances warranting termination of pregnancy, although that ruling was subsequently set aside by the Constitutional Court in August 2026 and sent back for a fresh hearing after finding that the State and Parliament had not properly participated in the original proceedings.
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The Constitutional Court did not determine the substantive constitutionality of the abortion provision, leaving the question of whether pregnancies resulting from sexual intercourse with minors qualify for lawful termination before the High Court.
Reproductive-health advocate Memory Kadau said the continuing challenge was the gap between the law and what people understood about their rights.
"Where is the disconnect in terms of us understanding what the law says, what the practice is?" she asked.
Mundawarara said abortion access could not be viewed only through the Termination of Pregnancy Act, arguing that policymakers, health professionals and the media all had a role in ensuring that people understood developments in the law.
For girls such as Chipo, however, uncertainty, stigma and lack of information can carry consequences far beyond the courtroom potentially pushing them towards unsafe methods when they cannot find or do not understand how to access lawful care.
