Grounds on Which Abortion Is Permitted s1

Bahamas

ABORTION POLICY

Grounds on which abortion is permitted

To save the life of the woman Yes To preserve physical health Yes To preserve mental health Yes Rape or incest No* Foetal impairment No* Economic or social reasons No Available on request No

Additional requirements

An abortion must be authorized and must be performed by a licensed physician in a hospital.

*Legal interpretation generally permits these grounds.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONTEXT

Government view of fertility level: Too high

Government intervention concerning fertility level: To lower

Government policy on contraceptive use: Direct support provided

Percentage of currently married women using modern contraception (aged 15-44; 1988): 62

Total fertility rate (1995-2000): 2.6

Age-specific fertility rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19, 1995-2000): 69

Government has expressed particular concern about: Morbidity and mortality resulting from induced abortion .. Complications of childbearing and childbirth ..

Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births, 1990): National 100 Caribbean 400

Female life expectancy at birth (1995-2000): 77

Source: The Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see list of references. 43 Bahamas

BACKGROUND

The Penal Code of the Bahamas of 1924, as revised (Sections 316, 330, and 334), provides that any act done in good faith and without negligence for the purposes of medical or surgical treatment of a pregnant woman is justifiable although it causes or is intended to cause abortion or miscarriage or premature delivery or the death of the child. Although the Code does not define what constitutes medical or surgical treatment, in practice, the law is interpreted very liberally. Abortions are reportedly performed on the grounds of foetal deformity and rape or incest, as well as on health grounds.

Abortions are usually performed within the first trimester, although they are often allowed up to 20 weeks of gestation. The abortion must be performed in a hospital by a licensed physician. Government hospitals bear the cost for non-paying patients. Violation of the law is punished by imprisonment for 10 years (Penal Code, Section 316).

Bahamas has the highest health expenditure per capita of the Latin America and Caribbean region (US$ 567 per capita in 1998). Family planning services have been available in all Government clinics since 1997 and at the Bahamas Planned Parenthood Association clinic. Services offered include a full range of contraceptive methods, as well as counselling, education, information and physical tests. In 1997 the Government also established a programme to improve the quality of prenatal and neonatal health care. Sex and family life education is now mandatory in school curricula. The Government has recently changed the regulations regarding adolescent pregnancy; girls can now attend school both during their pregnancy and after delivery.

Source: The Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department of International Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see list of references.