The high cost of abortion services is a major challenge faced by women and girls. In countries where abortion is legally restricted, women and their families have to pay a high price for abortion. For example, the research reports The Cost of Criminalization – Accessing Safe Abortion in Sri Lanka indicates that some women have to pay up to two hundred thousand rupees to access abortion care.

The fact that abortion has been made an illegal health service limits access to abortion. For example, in Sri Lanka, abortion can only be legally performed if the pregnancy poses a threat to the mother’s life. The current law was enacted in 1883 during the British rule. Do you think it is outdated?

Legal restrictions such as having to provide medical reasons to obtain abortion services, having to prove that one is a victim of sexual violence, and requiring male consent limit access to abortion.

We believe that women should have the full right to make decisions about their pregnancies. We believe that it is unfair to have to pay healthcare providers excessive fees to terminate a pregnancy. We believe that terminating a pregnancy should not be a reason to serve a prison sentence.

Would you like your mother, sister, or daughter to be sentenced to prison for having an abortion?

Do you think that health facilities in Sri Lanka should be developed to enable the termination of unplanned pregnancies?