Robin Muchetu, Health and Gender Editor
The Constitutional Court has set aside a 2025 High Court ruling declaring sections 4(a) and 2(1) of the Termination of Pregnancy Act unconstitutional.
The country’s Apex court found that the High Court ruling had failed to meet the legal threshold required to declare a statute, provision, conduct or custom invalid.
The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) and Nyasha Batitsa challenged provisions of Zimbabwe’s Termination of Pregnancy Act [Chapter 15:10] that regulate access to lawful termination of pregnancy.
CWGH raised two central concerns: the exclusion of mental health as an express ground under section 4(a) and the definition of “unlawful intercourse” in section 2(1), which the applicants argued failed to cover pregnancies arising from sexual conduct criminalised under section 106 of the Mental Health Act [Chapter 15:12].
On 11 November 2025, the High Court found the challenged provisions unconstitutional, directed Parliament to amend the “offending” section.
However, the High Court as is procedure suspended its judgement for 18 months pending confirmation by the Constitutional Court after which Parliament would have time to effect the changes.
After sitting to hear the confirmation proceedings the Constitutional Court declined to confirm the declarations and set aside the High Court judgment.
The Court accepted the legal argument, proffered by the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs who were cited as respondents, that not all mental health conditions warranted the need for abortion services since mental health is a broad term encompassing severe to mid health prognosis.
Counsel for the respondents argued that adopting a blanket approach to termination of pregnancy would be inappropriate and practically undesirable.
The Constitutional Court held that the proceedings in the High Court had not satisfied the legal test required to declare the law constitutionally invalid.
The Office of the Attorney-General represented the Minister of Health and Child Care and the Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in the proceedings.
@NyembeziMu
