When it comes to regulating abortions, or trying to make them all together illegal, anti-abortion advocates claim that although they want to punish doctors for performing them, they never advocate punishing the women to receive them. Well, almost never.

But of course, in other countries, women who obtain abortions are frequently punished, like this woman in Zambia who induced a miscarriage at 8 months.

Via the Post Newspapers:

Magistrate Mikalile said it was a fact that Phiri was pregnant and there was no dispute that the accused took an unknown substance and the foetus was expelled from her.

Magistrate Mikalile found Phiri guilty of the subject offence.
In mitigation, Phiri asked the court for forgiveness but magistrate Mikalile told her to ask for forgiveness from God.

She said it was unfortunate that a woman could do something of that nature and live with it.

“What the convict did is unacceptable and she deserves custodial sentence so that she may draw a lesson from the same. This would also discourage would be offenders and ultimately young girls will learn to stay away from unprotected sex,” she said.

Magistrate Mikalile then sentenced Phiri to six months simple imprisonment effective April 19.

Obviously, sentencing women would a public relations war that anti-choice operatives have no desire to embark on.  But I can’t help but wonder, if they thought they could get away with it, what punishment they think a woman should be forced to serve if she could be convicted of breaking a law.