Knowledge and perception on the new abortion law in Rwanda: Health professionals and clients’ perspectives

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge and perceptions about the new abortion law in Rwanda among health professionals and clients seeking abortion services. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study whose participants were healthcare professionals and women consulting for abortion care services at Muhima district hospital , Kacyiru district hospital and Kigali university teaching hospital. After getting an informed written consent, participants were interviewed using a data collection form, data were recorded on a questionnaire and entered in SPSS V 22 for analysis. RESULTS: 697 Participants made of 424 patients with abortion and 273 healthcare providers were recruited in this study. Within the group of patients 78.3% knew that ““any person who self-induces an abortion commits an offence””, 30.2% knew all 5 exemptions for criminal liability and 0.9% knew that the pregnancy should be less than 22 weeks of gestation for safe abortion. For patients’ perceptions, 50.5% of patients would vote for exemption of criminal liability for the person having abortion who “had become pregnant after being subjected to a forced marriage” and 97.2% would vote for exemption of criminal liability if “the pregnancy puts at risk the health of the pregnant person or of the foetus”. For healthcare providers, 46.9% knew all 5 exemptions for criminal liability and 29.3% knew that the pregnancy should be less than 22 weeks of gestation for safe abortion. For perception, 9.5% of participants would vote for exemption of criminal liability for the person having abortion who “become pregnant as a result of incest up to the second degree” and 65.6% would vote for exemption of criminal liability if “the pregnancy puts at risk the health of the pregnant person or of the foetus”. 81.7% of healthcare professionals reported personal belief as a barrier for execution of abortion law. CONCLUSION: Gaps in knowledge and perception of both health professionals and clients are evident. Effort should be made to improve the knowledge of patients and healthcare providers in regard to knowing all 5 exemptions for criminal liability and knowing that the pregnancy should be less than 22 weeks of gestation for safe abortion. Measures addressing the healthcare providers’ personal belief should be initiated to address barriers for execution of the new amended law governing abortion.