Social commentators have asked Malawi to emulate the US where the State of Alabama has passed into law a bill banning abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
Doctors found guilty risk a jail sentence of up to 99 years for carrying out the procedure.
However, women will not be prosecuted for having an abortion and there will be no prosecution for cases where the mother’s life is at serious risk.
According to reports, 25 male lawmakers in the state Senate of Alabama voted for the bill while six were against it.
During the debate, lawmakers also rejected proposals to allow abortion in cases where there was rape or incest.
The few women lawmakers highlighted that the decision about women’s bodies was being made almost entirely by men and one female lawmaker’s attempt to make an amendment to the bill to make it illegal for men to get vasectomies led to laughter.
Supporters of the ban say they expect the law to be blocked in court but hope that the appeals process will bring it before the Supreme Court where its conservative majority will overturn the 1973 ruling legalizing abortion.
In Malawi, abortion is illegal except in cases where the pregnancy poses a threat to the life of the expectant mother.
A 2016 research by College of Medicine women use unsafe ways to abort resulting in 18 percent of maternal deaths. It was also revealed that government spends K360 million on post-abortion care.
