Abortion Law in Bangladesh 2026: Penal Code Offences, Menstrual Regulation and Patient Rights

Abortion law Bangladesh: the 2026 position

Abortion law Bangladesh applies today still rests on five sections of a statute written in 1860. Sections 312 to 316 of the Penal Code make it an offence to cause a miscarriage unless the act is done in good faith to save the woman's life, and they punish the woman herself as well as the person who helps her.[1] [2] Alongside that prohibition, the State has run menstrual regulation as part of its national family planning programme since 1979, allowing early uterine evacuation within fixed time limits.[6] [7]

This guide explains how those two regimes fit together in 2026. It covers each offence and its punishment, the menstrual regulation (MR) policy and its time limits, medication MR, consent, the liability of doctors and clinics, pregnancy resulting from rape, the pending constitutional challenge, and practical steps for patients and providers.

Summary: Inducing a miscarriage is a crime in Bangladesh unless it is done in good faith to save the woman's life. The maximum sentence ranges from three years to imprisonment for life depending on the stage of pregnancy, whether the woman consented and whether she died. Menstrual regulation, offered under government policy since 1979, is permitted up to 12 weeks from the last menstrual period when performed by a doctor and 10 weeks by a trained mid-level provider; medication MR is permitted to 10 weeks. Rape is not a statutory exception, and a 2020 High Court Division rule challenging the Penal Code sections has not produced a reported final judgment.

Key point: The legal line in Bangladesh is drawn by time and by provider, not by the reason for ending the pregnancy. Within the MR window, at an authorised facility, the procedure is government policy. Outside it, the same act falls back under section 312 of the Penal Code, and the woman's consent does not make it lawful.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

Abortion law Bangladesh: the Penal Code offences in sections 312 to 316

The Penal Code 1860 does not use the word abortion. Chapter XVI groups the relevant offences under the heading of causing miscarriage and injuries to unborn children, in sections 312 to 316, followed by sections 317 and 318 on abandonment of children and concealment of birth.[1] The language is Victorian, and the term "miscarriage" covers any premature expulsion of the pregnancy that is brought about deliberately.[5]

Each provision targets a different harm: ending a pregnancy, ending it without the woman's agreement, causing her death, and causing the death of a child at or near birth. Which section applies matters, because the maximum sentence and the treatment of consent differ sharply between them. Our guide to criminal offences and penalties in Bangladesh explains how such offences move through the courts.

Section 312: causing miscarriage

Section 312 punishes anyone who voluntarily causes a woman with child to miscarry, if the miscarriage is not caused in good faith for the purpose of saving her life. The maximum is imprisonment of either description for three years, or a fine, or both. If the woman is "quick with child", the maximum rises to seven years and a fine.[2] [3] "Quick with child" refers to a later stage of pregnancy, traditionally associated with the point at which the mother perceives movement. The Penal Code does not define it in weeks.

The woman who acts herself

The explanation to section 312 makes clear that a woman who causes herself to miscarry falls within the section.[2] [5] This is the most criticised feature of the regime: the patient is a potential accused, not only the provider. Whatever the frequency of prosecution, that exposure shapes behaviour, because it can discourage women from seeking help when something goes wrong.

Section 313: miscarriage without the woman's consent

Where the miscarriage is caused without the woman's consent, whether or not she is quick with child, section 313 raises the punishment to imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for up to ten years, and a fine.[2] [3] This is the provision most relevant to coercion by a partner or family member, or to assaults intended to end a pregnancy.

Section 314: death caused by an act intended to cause miscarriage

Section 314 applies where a person, intending to cause a miscarriage, does an act that causes the woman's death. The maximum is ten years and a fine. If the act was done without her consent, the punishment is imprisonment for life or the ten-year term.[2] [3] The offence does not require any intention to kill: the intention to cause the miscarriage is enough.

Sections 315 and 316: harm to a child at or before birth

Section 315 punishes an act done before a child's birth with the intention of preventing it from being born alive, or causing it to die after birth, unless the act is done in good faith to save the mother's life. The maximum is ten years, a fine, or both.[2] Section 316 covers an act that would amount to culpable homicide if it caused the woman's death and that in fact causes the death of a quick unborn child, punishable with up to ten years and a fine.[2] [5]

The table below summarises the sentencing range. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

The life-saving exception and the meaning of good faith

The only express exception in sections 312 and 315 is an act done "in good faith for the purpose of saving the life" of the woman.[2] [3] Two points follow. First, the test is life, not health: the Penal Code contains no exception for serious injury to physical or mental health, foetal anomaly or social circumstances. Second, the exception turns on good faith, which section 52 of the Penal Code defines in terms of due care and attention.[1]

A doctor relying on the exception should therefore be able to show a genuine clinical judgment, reached with proper care, that the termination was necessary to save the woman's life. That means documented findings, a recorded decision and, where time permits, a second opinion. A termination justified only after the event, without a contemporaneous record, is far harder to defend.

Consent does not supply a defence

The general defences of consent in the Penal Code do not rescue a section 312 miscarriage. As commentators on the provision note, the consent of the woman or her guardian does not justify the act.[4] Consent matters for a different reason: its absence moves the case into the far more serious section 313 or the aggravated limb of section 314.

Menstrual regulation: the policy that operates alongside abortion law Bangladesh

Menstrual regulation is the procedure that allows early pregnancies to be ended lawfully in practice. It is described as a way to "establish nonpregnancy" for a woman who has missed a period, and it was brought into the national family planning programme in 1979 by a government memorandum.[6] The Guttmacher Institute records that a legal ruling exempted MR from regulation by the Penal Code.[6]

The result is a dual system: the Penal Code still criminalises induced miscarriage, while government regulations and the national family planning framework authorise MR within limits.[5] [7] There is no comprehensive abortion statute that reconciles the two.[8] For patients and providers, the practical question under abortion law Bangladesh is therefore whether a procedure falls inside the menstrual regulation framework, because outside it the Penal Code applies in full.

Time limits by provider

MR is measured from the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP). In 2012 the limits were reported as ten weeks for physicians and eight weeks for family welfare visitors and other trained paramedics.[6] Those limits have since been extended. Current reporting places the ceiling at 12 weeks when the procedure is performed by a doctor and 10 weeks when it is performed by a trained mid-level provider.[7] [8]

Family welfare visitors have been described as the backbone of the MR programme: they have at least ten years of schooling and around 18 months of training that includes MR.[6] The provider's category determines the lawful window, so a patient should confirm who will perform the procedure before relying on the higher limit.

Where menstrual regulation is available

MR is offered in government facilities, including union health and family welfare centres, and in some private and NGO clinics. Availability is uneven. In 2014 only 53 per cent of public facilities permitted to offer MR actually did so, and only 20 per cent of eligible private facilities.[7]

What happens after the time limit

Once the MR window has passed, menstrual regulation is no longer available, and any termination must fit within the life-saving exception in section 312 to be lawful. Commentators have noted that the MR policy softens the effect of the Penal Code in the first trimester but leaves serious difficulties for pregnancies beyond 12 weeks.[8] This is where most of the legal risk in abortion law Bangladesh is concentrated, for patients and for providers.

Medical MR: medication, time limits and pharmacy sales

Menstrual regulation with medication (MRM) uses a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol.[7] It was introduced in 2014, initially within nine weeks of a missed period, and in 2021 the National Technical Committee of the Directorate General of Family Planning (DGFP) extended the limit to ten weeks.[9]

Prescription and over-the-counter sales

MRM kits are not supposed to be sold without a prescription. In practice many pharmacies sell them over the counter, and in February 2024 a DGFP director acknowledged that the authorities were aware of illegal sales and that instructions for drug sellers were being printed.[9] Research with providers has found that kits are frequently bought by husbands or relatives, often with little screening or instruction.[9]

The legal consequence is important. Medication taken within the MRM window, under the supervision of an authorised provider, sits within government policy. Pills bought informally and taken outside that framework, or after the time limit, leave the woman and the seller without the policy's protection. A pharmacist who supplies a kit knowing that the pregnancy is well beyond the MRM limit takes a real risk of being treated as having abetted an offence under section 312.

Why counting the weeks matters

Clinicians interviewed in 2024 warned that many women do not know how to count pregnancy weeks, and that taking MRM late, often on advice from unqualified sellers, can cause prolonged bleeding and serious complications.[8] [9] The kits are also ineffective for ectopic pregnancy, which can become life-threatening, and some women with heart, kidney or liver conditions are unsuitable for them.[9] Accurate dating is both a medical safeguard and the fact on which legality depends.

Consent under abortion law Bangladesh

Consent plays three distinct roles. It is the line between section 312 and the far graver section 313. It is not a defence to section 312 itself. And, within the menstrual regulation programme, the woman's informed agreement is the basis on which any procedure should proceed.

The woman's own decision

The Penal Code focuses on the woman's consent, not anyone else's. Section 313 is triggered by the absence of her consent, and section 314 is aggravated in the same way.[2] A procedure performed on a woman who has been pressured or deceived by a partner or family member exposes that person, and potentially the provider, to the most serious charges in the chapter.

Husbands and families

Nothing in sections 312 to 316 makes a husband's consent a legal condition for a lawful procedure, and the policy sources we reviewed do not impose one. Practice is less consistent. Research with MR providers found that some do not require a husband's confirmation while others will proceed only if a husband, mother-in-law or mother is present.[9] Clinics that insist on family consent are applying an internal practice, not a legal rule, and should make sure it does not override the woman's own decision or delay her past the time limit.

Minors and capacity

Section 90 of the Penal Code addresses consent given under fear or misconception, by a person of unsound mind and by a child.[1] Where the patient is a minor or lacks capacity, a provider should involve a lawful guardian, record the clinical reasoning and, in any case suggesting sexual abuse, follow the reporting and evidential steps described below. A pregnant child may also be the victim of an offence under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000.

Liability of doctors, nurses and clinics

Health professionals face criminal liability under the Penal Code, civil and consumer liability for negligence, and professional discipline. The MR framework protects an authorised provider acting within its limits, and no one who steps outside them.

Criminal exposure

A doctor, nurse, paramedic or unqualified practitioner who performs a termination outside the MR framework and without a genuine life-saving purpose can be charged under section 312, or under section 314 if the patient dies.[2] Liability for abetment under the general provisions of the Penal Code can extend to those who arrange, refer or supply the means. Petitioners in the 2020 constitutional challenge argued that fear of prosecution makes doctors and nurses reluctant to provide care, pushing women towards unqualified providers.[3]

Negligence and professional discipline

Where a lawful MR procedure goes wrong, the issue is ordinarily negligence rather than abortion law Bangladesh. The patient may have a claim for compensation, a complaint before the professional regulator and, in serious cases, a criminal complaint for causing hurt or death by negligence. Our detailed guide to medical negligence in Bangladesh covers the standard of care, expert evidence and remedies, and should be read alongside this section.

Refusal and referral

Refusal is common. In 2014 public and private facilities refused MR to an estimated 105,000 women, about 27 per cent of those who sought it.[7] Clinicians have reported that stigma deters women from government facilities and that some senior doctors refuse to help or refer patients on religious grounds.[8] No statute obliges an individual practitioner to provide MR, but a refusal that delays a woman beyond the time limit has consequences, and facilities should have a clear referral pathway so that the decision of one practitioner does not decide the outcome.

Post-abortion care is lawful treatment

Treating a woman who arrives with an incomplete abortion or complications is not causing a miscarriage but emergency medical care, and the share of facilities offering post-abortion care rose to 91 per cent in 2014.[7] Fear of legal consequences should never delay that treatment, and clinicians should record what they find factually without speculating about how the condition arose.

Pregnancy resulting from rape

The Penal Code contains no exception for pregnancy resulting from rape. The life-saving exception in section 312 is the only express exception, and commentators and petitioners have identified the absence of any provision for rape survivors as a central defect of the current law.[3] [14]

What a survivor can do

In practice the menstrual regulation programme is the route open to a rape survivor, provided she reaches an authorised provider within the time limit. MR does not depend on the reason for the pregnancy, so a survivor within 12 weeks of her last period (10 weeks for a mid-level provider or for medication) can seek the procedure in the same way as any other woman.[8] [9] After the window closes, she is in the same legal position as any other woman, which is why early medical contact after a sexual assault is critical.

The 1972 precedent

Bangladesh has relaxed the prohibition before. After the 1971 war of independence, during which tens of thousands of women and girls were reportedly raped, the government temporarily waived the abortion ban for wartime rape victims in 1972.[13] That waiver was not carried into the permanent law.

The child born of rape: section 13 of the 2000 Act

The Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000 addresses the consequences where a child is born. Section 13 provides that, notwithstanding any other law, a child born as a result of rape may be kept in the custody of the mother or her maternal relatives, may be identified by the father's or mother's identity or both, and is entitled to maintenance from the State.[10] Maintenance runs until the child reaches 21, with longer periods for an unmarried daughter and a child with a disability, and the government may recover the sums from the rapist's present or future property.[10] [14]

Recent reform of rape trials

Rape procedure changed significantly in 2025 and 2026. A March 2025 ordinance cut the investigation period for rape cases from 30 to 15 days, shortened the trial deadline to 90 days, created a special tribunal for child rape cases and allowed trials to proceed on medical certificates and circumstantial evidence without waiting for a DNA report.[12] The elected Parliament then enacted the Women and Children Repression Prevention (Amendment) Act 2026 as Act No 85 of 2026, published on 10 April 2026.[11] None of these reforms created an abortion exception for rape, so the Penal Code position is unchanged.

For a survivor, the criminal case and the medical decision run in parallel. Reporting promptly preserves medical evidence and starts the prosecution clock, while early contact with a provider keeps the MR option open. Our guide on how to file a criminal case in Bangladesh explains the first steps, and our analysis of domestic violence law in Bangladesh covers protection orders where the abuser is a partner or relative.

The constitutional challenge to sections 312 to 316

On 18 August 2020 a High Court Division bench of Justice Tariq-ul-Hakim and Justice SM Kuddus Zaman issued a rule on a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Dr Syeda Nasrin, asking the authorities to explain within four weeks why sections 312 to 316 should not be revoked and declared illegal.[3] The respondents included the Law Secretary and the Registrar General of the Supreme Court.[3] [13]

The petition argued that the sections conflict with the fundamental rights to life, liberty, privacy and bodily integrity protected by the Constitution, and that they make no provision for rape survivors.[3] [4] A rule is a direction to show cause, not a decision. Reporting in 2022 recorded no final ruling, and we have found no reported judgment disposing of the rule since.[5] Until the court decides, or Parliament legislates, sections 312 to 316 remain fully in force. Our overview of fundamental rights in Bangladesh explains the constitutional framework the petition relies on.

How abortion law Bangladesh works in practice

The gap between the law in the books and practice is large. In 2014 about 430,000 MR procedures were performed in health facilities, a fall of 34 per cent since 2010, while an estimated 1,194,000 induced abortions took place, many outside the formal system.[7] About 384,000 women suffered complications from clandestine abortion that year.[7]

Later estimates point the same way. An analysis for 2015 to 2019 published in BMJ Global Health estimated 5.33 million pregnancies a year, of which 2.63 million were unintended and 1.58 million ended in abortion.[8] DGFP figures cited in 2024 suggested about 800,000 MR cases a year, of which only around 150,000 were officially recorded.[9] The legal significance is that most terminations take place in a grey zone, where the woman's position depends on timing, provider and documentation she may not have.

Practical guidance for patients

For a woman considering ending a pregnancy, abortion law Bangladesh turns on a few practical facts: how many weeks have passed since her last period, who will provide the procedure and whether it is done within the menstrual regulation programme. The sequence below reflects the steps that protect both her health and her legal position.

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Points to avoid

• Delay: every week counts. A woman who waits past 10 or 12 weeks loses access to MR and is left with the narrow life-saving exception.[8]
• Unsupervised pills: MRM bought over the counter without assessment carries medical risk and takes the woman outside the policy framework.[9]
• Unqualified providers: clandestine procedures carry a far higher complication rate than MR, and they fall entirely outside the policy framework.[6]

A woman who develops complications after any procedure, lawful or not, should seek emergency care immediately. Treatment of complications is medical care, and its availability is not conditional on explaining how they arose.[7]

Practical guidance for clinics and practitioners

For providers, the MR framework is a protection only if the facility can prove it stayed within it. The controls we recommend follow directly from the structure of the Penal Code and the MR policy.

• Date every pregnancy: record the first day of the last menstrual period and, where available, clinical or ultrasound dating, and confirm the procedure is within the limit for the provider's category.[7] [8]
• Match the provider to the limit: a mid-level authorised provider should not perform MR beyond 10 weeks; procedures between 10 and 12 weeks need a doctor.[8]
• Record informed consent: document the woman's own consent in a language she understands, and do not allow family consent to replace it.[2]
• Document life-saving decisions: where a termination beyond the MR window is necessary to save life, record the clinical findings, the decision and the time, and obtain a second opinion where possible.[1]
• Control MRM dispensing: supply medication only on assessment and prescription, with counselling on bleeding, follow-up and warning signs.[9]
• Have a referral pathway: if a practitioner declines on grounds of conscience, refer the patient promptly so that she is not pushed past the time limit.[8]
• Handle suspected abuse properly: where the patient is a minor or the pregnancy may result from rape, preserve clinical evidence and support the patient in reporting under the 2000 Act.[10]

Confidentiality

Records of MR and post-abortion care are sensitive health data. Facilities should limit access, avoid disclosing a patient's treatment to family members without her agreement, and take advice before responding to any request from police or third parties. Facilities storing records digitally should also review our note on patient data in the cloud in Bangladesh.

If a criminal case is filed

Criminal cases under sections 312 to 316 usually begin with a police case or a complaint to a magistrate after a death or serious injury, or with an allegation by a family member. For an accused provider or patient, the immediate issues are bail, the medical evidence and whether the facts fall within the MR framework or the life-saving exception. Our guide on the rights of an accused person in Bangladesh explains the procedural protections, and our overview of criminal law in Bangladesh sets out the wider framework.

Where a prosecution is plainly unsustainable on its own facts, for example because the procedure was a documented MR within the time limit by an authorised provider, the High Court Division's inherent jurisdiction under section 561A of the Code of Criminal Procedure may be used to seek quashment. A complainant should preserve the medical records and identify who performed the procedure, since sections 313 and 314 turn on that person's acts and the woman's consent.[2]

What to watch in 2026

Three developments will shape abortion law Bangladesh over the coming year. First, the 2020 High Court Division rule on sections 312 to 316 remains the only direct judicial challenge to the Penal Code provisions, and any hearing would be the most significant legal event in this area since 1979.[3] Second, enforcement of prescription-only sales of MRM, which the DGFP has acknowledged is weak, may tighten.[9] Third, the reformed rape-trial regime under Act No 85 of 2026 will test whether faster investigations translate into earlier medical contact for survivors.[11] [12]

Until then, the law is a Victorian prohibition with a single life-saving exception, softened by an MR policy that works only for women who reach an authorised provider in time. Our criminal quashment practice and constitutional and writ litigation practice can review a matter, or you can contact TRW directly.

Frequently asked questions

Is abortion legal in Bangladesh?

Not as a general right. Sections 312 to 316 of the Penal Code make causing miscarriage an offence unless it is done in good faith to save the woman's life. Menstrual regulation is, however, provided under government policy within fixed time limits.[2] [7]

What is the punishment for abortion in Bangladesh?

Up to three years, a fine or both under section 312, rising to seven years and a fine if the woman is quick with child. Without her consent, the punishment under section 313 is imprisonment for life or up to ten years and a fine.[2] [3]

Can a woman be punished for ending her own pregnancy?

Yes, in law. The explanation to section 312 states that a woman who causes herself to miscarry falls within the section.[2] [5]

What is menstrual regulation?

A procedure to establish non-pregnancy after a missed period, part of the national family planning programme since 1979 and treated as outside the Penal Code's restrictions.[6]

What is the time limit for MR?

Up to 12 weeks from the last menstrual period when performed by a doctor, and 10 weeks when performed by a trained mid-level provider.[8]

Is medical abortion with pills legal?

Medication MR with mifepristone and misoprostol is part of government policy, introduced in 2014 to nine weeks and extended to ten weeks in 2021. Kits should be supplied only on prescription.[9]

Does a married woman need her husband's consent?

The Penal Code focuses on the woman's own consent and does not make a husband's consent a legal condition. Some providers ask for family involvement as a matter of practice.[2] [9]

Is abortion allowed after rape?

There is no rape exception in the Penal Code. A survivor can use menstrual regulation within the ordinary time limits; after that only the life-saving exception applies.[3] [8]

Who supports a child born of rape?

Under section 13 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act 2000 the State bears the child's maintenance, which it may recover from the rapist's property, and the child may stay with the mother or her relatives.[10]

Has the High Court struck down the abortion provisions?

No. In August 2020 the High Court Division issued a rule asking why sections 312 to 316 should not be declared illegal, but no final judgment has been reported, and the sections remain in force.[3] [5]